A Story Of X
by CloudsHalo
Summary: A world without Titans, just normal teens going to a normal school. A young teen, who has been picked on all his life finds a suit that will change his life, and those around him, forever. An alternate tale to the birth of Red X R
1. Need To Know Info

**THIS IS A MUST READ IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND PARTS OF THE STORY**

Alright, a few things to get out of the way before you can start reading… This should only take one to two minutes at most, and then you can start reading…

In this story, Red X is the main character, but since this is a school story, I had to come up with my own person to put into the suit… So in my story, when he is outside of the suit, Red X's regular name is Kale Riley… I know many people out there have there own version of who he is, but since this is a school story, and mine, this is who I picked, an original character…

Now, since this is going to be a high school story, I decided to base the school's layouts and rules off of my school…

First off, a main term used in out school is 'the trail.' What this is, is exactly what it sounds like… Our student parking lot is at the stadium… In order to get from the parking lot to the school, the students have to walk up the trail… Its not much, just a pretty wide sidewalk with railings and light posts running along side it… It's about a five to ten minute walk going up/down, and its not that bad, unless its during the winter months, and then it's a bitch… There is also a creek that it goes over and we call that 'the creek.' Original eh? So ya, the trail will be a pretty important factor in chapter two, so look out for it…

The next thing is the schedule my school goes by… We have eight periods, each an hour and a half long, and four periods a day… A requirement that happens throughout the entire four years of attendance is to have SRT (Student Resource Time) sixth period… In other words, a mandatory study hall every other day for four years… Cool eh? Also, we have ten minute passing periods, meaning we have ten minutes to get from one period to the next…

For the lunch schedule, we have four lunch periods that are about forty minutes long, with passing periods in between each one… The reason I am telling you all this is that I may or may not include the rules, regulations, scheduling in my story, but if I do, you will know how it all works…

Characters that will appear in this are the Titans (which I will be using their real names), Red X, and a few others that you will just have to read and find out who they are… Now, since Red X is the main character, and he has always been the enemy of the Titans in the show, I decided I was going to keep that relationship the same in this, with one exception, but you will have to read and find out who that one person is… So, that pretty much means that the Titans will sort of be the enemies… Weird, oh ya, but it works out well… Hope this little switch-a-roo doesn't bother you guys… There may be some special cameo appearances by other characters in the show, so look out for them ;) Ok, now that the technical and informative crap is out of the way, read on people, read on…


	2. The Suit

Ok, I know I said I was going to wait until "He's Back" was completed to write this story, but it was burning a hole in my brain and I just wanted to get it out… Oh, and bonus points go to anyone who can figure out the math problem in here... So ya, I pretty much said all I needed to say in the info chapter, so nothing else left to say but read on…

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, for they are the property of DC comics… And remember kids, when life gives you lemons, squeeze them into other people's eyes ;)… 

It was another glorious day at Jump City High, it was lunch time, and Kale Riley was sitting at the same table he always sat at for the past two years. He was a 16 year old junior attending the aforementioned school. With dark blue eyes and medium length brown hair that fell loosely around his face, the boy just screamed 'average'. But not that it mattered because if one were to walk by they wouldn't even notice his existence. He was not a very popular teen, and in fact, he had been made fun of and tormented by the popular kids for most of his entire school life.

Kale had tried almost everything he could think of to get those damn populars off his back. He had tried changing his appearance by altering his clothes, switching from style to style more times than Cher. But the popular kids just thought of him as a poser, and criticized him even more for that. Ultimately, he went back to his usual attire, of baggy jeans and dark shirts, but he did keep one remnant from his little failed experiment, which was the chain that was adorning from his pants. For no real reason what-so-ever, he liked the chain and decided to keep it.

And so, Kale sat at his table, all alone with no one to talk to. He had never really had any friends and he never understood why. He was just unpopular and being around him seemed to drop anyone's social status down a few notches. Damn teens and their idle beliefs. If one were to paint a picture of this scene, it would be quite depressing. He was sitting there, minding his own business, slowly eating his lunch while looking over some homework he wanted to get done.

"Let's see, if A is 47, B is 22, C is 27, and A squared equals B squared plus C squared minus 2BC cosX, then X is around…" He was lost in his own little world that he didn't even notice the two ketchup covered fries coming right for his head. And they hit their mark right on.

"Ahh! What the…?" Kale looked up and touched his head were the edible projectiles had hit. "What is this, oh great. Ketchup. Great, just great. Oh, and let me guess who could possibly be responsible for this." Kale turned in his seat to his left in the general direction from where the fries came. And his assumption was correct. "Of course."

There, at a few tables over, were Garfield Logan and Victor Stone high-fiving and fist punching. The smaller of the two, Garfield, was kind of a lanky kid. He had short, brown spiked hair and he had a pale skin complexion that almost gave the appearance of a greenish tint. He was wearing blue jeans and one of his many famous comedy T-shirts. Today's had a picture of a man holding a giant magnet with two women stuck to it by their heads. Below this little cartoon was a caption that said, 'Chick Magnet.' How this little elf ever got any girls to pay any attention to him was beyond Kale. But Garfield's emerald colored eyes might have had something to do with it, because it sure as hell wasn't his sense of humor.

The taller of the two was Victor Stone, and saying this guy was tall was an understatement because he was a giant of sorts. He towered over everyone else, especially Garfield, dwarfing the elf's size even more. Victor was a bald African American teen of around 17 or 18. And he was ripped to say the least. He may have been big, but it was all muscle. Not a single ounce of fat on him probably. And from the way he dressed, you could tell he was your typical jock. He wore a Jump City High football letter jacket over a loose white shirt with blue jeans. He played every sport that the school offered almost, and it just happened to be football season. Victor seemed to excel at every sport he participated in, but Kale figured he failed at anything that was academical. All brawn and no brains.

"Give it to me two time! Haha!" Garfield cheered.

"Dude, you crazy. That was good, but I wouldn't give it more than a three pointer" Victor said back to his over excited friend.

'_What a sick sense of humor these two jerks have.' _The points reference made by Victor was actually a game that they had come up with a while ago. They would come up with some kind of joke, prank, form of torment towards Kale, and then they would rate and give each other points according on their performance and the overall success. _'Such a stupid and immature game. But I guess it fits perfectly with their stupid and immature little and underdeveloped minds.'_ Kale smiled at his inward thoughts and went back to trying to ignore his tormentors. He tried to focus on his work, but Kale's concentration was slipping and his mind kept wandering, over hearing a few bits and pieces of different conversations.

"Oh my God, I totally forgot to tell you."

"What?"

"I'm huge in the doghouse at home."

"Why?"

Kale wasn't interested in what two really preppy and hyper active girls were up to, but he figured the first girl was in trouble for something trivial and she was just over exaggerating. Typical.

"So I said: 'What did he say?' And she said he said his cell phone was broken, what a dog right?"

"Oh my God, yes."

"So I told her to tell him to drop dead."

"You go girl."

'_God, doesn't this school have anyone else in it than preppy gossiping girls?'_ Kale turned his attention towards a different corner of the lunch room and spotted another person sitting all alone. The new kid. She had only been at this school for about a week, and already had gotten at least three detentions, one of which was on the first day of her arrival. She was sitting alone, and not even eating lunch. Instead, the girl was reading a book, and a lengthy one by the looks of it. With her head buried in her book, he couldn't seer her face at all, but he did notice that she was wearing a dark, royal blue hoodie and black jeans. She had one studded belt wrapped loosely around her waist. One leg was crossed over the other, revealing that she wore laceless, perfectly fitting, slipper like shoes that were the same color as the hoodie. As she turned a page within her book, a quick glimpse of her hair could be seen and Kale noticed that it was a violet color.

'_So, this is the new girl? The dark one herself. The loner of all loners. You know, I have never seen her until now, but now I get were all those rumors could come from. She is definitely dark, but from the looks of that book, she is probably very intellectual. Oh well, I prefer her over the preps.'_ Kale was too distracted that he didn't notice two more fries coming right at him, and this time, they hit him right in the face. "Ahh, not again!"

"Now that is definitely a five pointer" Garfield said to his larger friend.

"No way. I'd give it a four" Victor said calmly to his tiny companion.

"Oh come on man. That was a bulls-eye."

"Whatever little man."

'_Bastards. Cant they think of anything else better to do with their time, like evolve past a rock and move onto a mammal?'_ Kale looked down at his hands and sighed. "What did I do to deserve this kind of torment? Why me?" he whispered.

If Kale had looked up at that moment, he would have known to move out of the way, for another edible projectile was coming towards him. But this was no fry, it was much larger. A taco had been hurled and was coming right at him. But he didn't look up. He was too busy wallowing over his depressing life. The taco kept coming and hit his drink, spilling all over his homework. The taco ricocheted off the drink and slammed right into him, exploding and splattering all over him on contact.

"And the master slams it home!" Garfield cheered on.

"GOOOAAL!" Victor shouted out.

"Oh come on guys, its not that big of a deal. I just have really good aim."

"Hell ya you do."

'_Of course. What kind of circus is complete without a ring leader?'_ Kale didn't even need to turn around to know who this person was. He had already met with him multiple times in the past and was the main factor in his torment. Garfield and Victor were just this guy's cronies as it were. The guy held all the cards and was the center person of the group of the populars. Richard, or Dick, Grayson. _'Dick Grayson. The name suits him, since he is one.'_

Behind the two cronies, as Kale ever so gently put it, was Dick Grayson. He was about the same height as Kale, if it weren't for his hair. It was a jet black color that was so spiked and shiny that Kale wondered just how much hair gel that guy used in one day. He usually wore snazzy button shirts that were opened all the way down with some tight fitting T-shirt underneath. And for some reason unknown to Kale, Dick always wore sunglasses. Day or night, inside or outside, summer or winter, it didn't matter. He always wore sunglasses. In fact, Kale wondered if he had actually ever seen Dick without those damn things on. His memory told him no. Dick was also profusely rich, due to his foster parent, Bruce Wayne, who owned a multimillion dollar company. He was rich, and he took every chance he could to show it, with expensive clothes and jewelry. Whatever it took to flaunt off his riches.

Kale turned in his seat to glare at the group, and Dick was sitting in his usual cross legged holier-than-thou position. His only reaction to Kale's glare was a slight nod and a two finger mock salute. _'God how I loath him. Oh, and look who he has with him. No group of stuck up snobs is complete without the cheerleader girlfriend.'_

The cheerleader girlfriend to which Kale was referring to was Kori Anders. She was slightly taller than Dick, and Kale believed there was a reason behind that. She had long red hair that went down to about midway between the waist and the neck. She was wearing tight fitting jeans with slits in the lower area around the feet, and a tighter fitting spaghetti strap shirt. Her eyes were of a deeper emerald than Garfield's and just added to her beauty. She was the girl almost everyone wanted, but on one ever got. Almost. Right now though, she was seated on Dick's lap with his arm snaked around her waist, declaring to everyone that she was his. God how Kale hated these people, acting like they were so much better than everyone else around them.

"Dick dear, that was an awfully horrible thing to do" Kori said in an innocent silky voice that made Kale want to gag with disgust.

"Oh I know, wasn't it? Maybe I should go over and apologize. What do you think about that guys?" Dick said in a calm demeanor.

"Yeah man. He looks a little hehe, sour" Victor snickered.

"Definitely" Garfield added while trying to stifle a laugh by covering his mouth with both hands.

"Oh, I know exactly what you guys mean" Dick said with a wink from behind his sunglasses, though no one saw it. He gestured to Kori to get off of him and she obliged. He got up from his seat and calmly walked over to Kale who was using his napkin to try and clean most of the remnants of the taco off his shirt and face.

Kale looked up to see Dick was coming towards him with one hand in his pocket and the other gave him a slight wave. _'Oh great. The all powerful Dick Grayson coming over to say something to me. This has Danger, Danger Will Robinson written all over it.' _Kale returned his attention towards attempting to somewhat clean himself up.

Dick walked over and placed a hand on Kale's shoulder, but Kale didn't respond. "Hey buddy, you okay? That went a little too far huh?" said Dick in an all too nice a manner.

Kale didn't answer for he knew something was up. Dick leaned in closer so that his face was right beside Kale's. "You know man, you got some nerve. Having me come over and actually try and talk to you, and you don't even respond. Its never a good thing when something like this happens. Important people like me don't like to be treated like this."

'_This is bad treatment! Have you been paying attention to what you have been doing to me over the years?'_ Kale wanted to scream this out, right in Dick's face, but he didn't. Instead, he slightly turned to face Dick. "Whatever man. Just do your lame ass apology, be on your way, and leave me the hell alone. Got it?"

"Got it. No hard feelings right?" Dick extended his hand to Kale as a peaceful handshake, but Kale just batted it away.

"Whatever." Kale turned his attention away from Dick and back down to his lunch tray, books, and napkin, only to see a lemon slice right in front of his face. _'Oh crap.' _Before Kale could even react, the hand that was holding the lemon squeezed it, and the sour stinging liquid went flying right into Kale's eyes. He let out a gasp of pain as he clutched at his eyes. The lemon juice was burning them so badly he couldn't even see. He jumped up and rushed in the general direction of where he knew the restrooms where, brushing up against Dick in the process.

Dick walked away from where Kale was sitting and went over to the trashcan where he dropped the squeezed lemon slice. He then turned on his heal back towards his group while brushing off the spot where Kale had touched him, like it was contaminated or something. Garfield and Victor were high-fiving each other, as usual.

"Dude, that was awesome" said Victor.

"Yeah man. On a point scale from one to ten, I give you a twenty. Seriously dude, you rock out loud!" said an over excited Garfield as he extended a fist towards Dick for a fist punch.

"What was your first clue?" Dick asked as he met Garfield's fist with his own. He looked over to where Kori was standing with her hands on her hips. "What, I said I was sorry" he said in a sickenly calm voice.

Kori's gaze softened and she walked towards Dick, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That's all I asked for."

"Besides, the guy had it coming anyway" Dick said while pointing with his thumb to where Kale had left the cafeteria. "And after he touched me, he deserves something more as well."

Meanwhile, Kale had finally walked into the correct restroom. After all, the female's sign looks awfully similar to the men's when your eyesight is blinded by sheer burning pain. Kale rushed to the sink, turned on the faucet, and furiously started splashing water into his eyes. The burning sensation was starting to subside and his blurred vision was starting to clear up. He looked up to the mirror and saw that his eyes were completely bloodshot. One last splash of water in his face and then he reached for the paper towels in the dispenser. He rubbed the paper towel over his face, trying to dry off all the water and any remnants of the lemon juice.

After he was done, Kale threw the used paper into the trash can, but didn't leave the restroom right away. Instead, he stared at the image of himself reflected back at him in the mirror. He closed his still sore, but not as sore, eyes and placed his forehead against the mirror. _'Why me? Its always me.' _He opened his eyes and removed his forehead from the mirror. He looked back at his reflection, but this time his expression was that of anger, not depression. "One of these days, those jerks are going to get what's coming to them and I am going to see to it personally." With that said, Kale regained most of his composure and walked out the door, not knowing what fate had in mind for him.

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'_2:59. Come on, just a few more seconds and I can finally get out of this hell hole.'_ Kale was sitting very impatiently in his desk, with his feet tapping very fast on the ground, his fingers were rapidly rapping on top of his desk, anything that could possibly make it feel like time was passing at a quicker rate than reality let it, until…

RIIINNG!

Kale jumped out of his seat and rushed out the door at the sound of freedom that every teen loves to hear during the last period of school on a Friday. _'Yes finally, the weekend has officially begun. And with a very small amount of homework, this should be a pretty laid back, easy going weekend. Just gotta get to my locker and then I'm off to the bus.' _He rushed as fast as he could to his locker, which unfortunately was on the opposite end of the school from his last class and the buses.

After a couple minutes of pushing through the crowded hallway traffic, Kale finally reached his locker. _'31-45-33, open locker, get books,' _Kale put his books into his backpack, and with a slight flick of the wrist and a turn of his body, the locker door slammed shut. _'Locker closed. Alright, now all I have to do is get to the buses before they leave and I'm home free.'_

He flung his backpack over his shoulder and began to briskly walk down a less crowded hallway. But, Kale was too occupied with getting to the buses on time to notice a couple of people walking and whispering to each other behind him.

"Looks like a ten pointer to me."

"After you."

"No, please, I insist mister Stone."

"Mister Grayson, it would be my honor." The teen who was mister Stone picked up his pace and soon was within arms length of Kale. Victor took one last look behind him at Dick for a nod of approval, and a cruel smirk played across his face. A similar smile came onto Victors lips as he turned back to his victim. He waited for the most opportune moment, and when it came, Victor didn't hesitate to act. With a swift kick to his leg, Kale lost his footing and went tumbling forward, knocking into a few people, spilling their belongings in the process.

"Ooof!" Kale let out as he landed face down on the tiled floor.

"Watch were you're going you little spaz! These high heels cost more than you do!" Kitten Moth yelled out. Another popular bitch, if not one of the bitchiest, in a school that was full of them.

"Hehe. A bit clumsy aren't ya? That was payback for touching me at lunch."

Kale gritted his teeth as he turned to look up towards Dick. He was standing right next to Victor who had his arms crossed in front of him, seemingly proud of a job well done. Both had a cruel, sickening grin played across their lips. Kale didn't reply, but gave them both a serious death glare.

"Uh oh, looks like Riley's about to pull a 'Carrie'" joked the taller of the two teens, with a nasty bite to his voice.

Dick just laughed at that. "Yeah, wouldn't want him to get mad at us would we? Hehe." Dick turned on his heel with Victor following right behind him, and both started walking towards the trail that led to the student parking lot. Without even turning around, Dick gave Kale a slight back-hand wave. "See ya around loser."

"Ah, go flex a muscle you vain, arrogant bastard" Kale whispered under his breath. He slowly got up to his feet and dusted himself off. _'Man, what I wouldn't give to have the power and the courage to get back at them' _he thought to himself as he stared in the direction Dick had left. With one hand holding onto a strap of his backpack, he turned his gaze towards the ceiling. _'But right now, all I want to do is, go…' _Kale quickly turned to one of the many overhead clocks in his school, then looked down the hall in the direction he was headed before he was so rudely interrupted. _'Crap!'_

With a heft of his shoulder to get a better grip on his backpack, Kale sprinted down the hallway towards the buses. _'Please oh please oh please oh please! Don't leave without me!' _He was reaching the doors and the charged towards them. _'Please, not just yet. Don't leave just yet! I'm almost there! Please don't leave…' _He burst through doors only to be greeted by the sight of the final bus pulling out of the parking lot and out onto the main street. _'Damn it! Just, damn it.'_

With a heavy heart and a heavy sigh, Kale slumped up against the wall behind him, looking upwards towards the sky as he did so. "Man, you really don't like me do you? Do you get your sick kicks out of torturing me like this? All I can say is you damn well better have something big planned for me, cause this life I have now just plain sucks." With a grunt that came from more than frustration than effort, Kale pushed himself off of the wall and hefted his backpack once again. "Well, I better get going. Home is like on the other side of the city almost. Damn city council for only having one single high school in this damn place. What the hell were they thinking? Well, at least I don't have too much homework, other wise a heavy backpack would be the death of me. And, the sea by the warehouse district at the docks is pretty nice this time of day, and will probably look even better by the time I get there. I guess I'll take the scenic route." And with that said, Kale started off on his long trek home.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"You know Kale, you are some piece of work, you know that? I mean, you're ten times smarter than that Dick, yet cant even stand up to the guy." Kale was talking to himself while walking the long way home. He had found that it would help pass the time, along with kicking an empty soda can he had found along the way.

"But, even though this weekend hasn't exactly started off the way I wanted it to, this isn't so bad. A nice, calm, relaxing walk, despite the length of it, and a beautiful ocean scenery. This really isn't so bad." Indeed, it was a sight to behold. The warm, crisp ocean air gently caressing his face and the salt water scent of the ocean wafted over to him and fill his senses.. The seagulls overhead were chirping, and the sounds of the ocean breaking wave upon the shore, utterly peaceful. All was calm and Kale was enjoying this moment of tranquility, until…

CRASH!

"Hey man, careful with that crate. The boss wants it in one piece. And if that doesn't happen, we don't get paid, remember?"

"Grrr."

"Yeah yeah. Just put it in the warehouse and our job is done. We go in, drop off the package, and then we're out of here. Easiest job the boss has ever had us do."

'_Now what the hell is going on?' _Kale quietly rushed over to where he heard the crash and voices. He stopped at a corner and peeked around it to see what was happening. A white, unmarked, box truck had its back open and facing the warehouse. A skinny guy with slicked back hair and an entire one piece suit was standing by the loading area that the truck was at. We was waving a cigarette around and pointing it towards the back of the truck all high-and-mighty like. He was obviously waving it and talking to someone in the truck, but Kale couldn't see who it was.

"God man, you're slower than a sloth. Pick up the pace would ya? We don't have all day ya know" the skinny guy called towards whoever was in the truck.

"Grrr."

"Yeah yeah. Grrr. Just hurry it up will ya?"

The man inside the truck finally emerged from within with a large looking crate on one of his shoulders. Kale's eyes widened as he saw this giant of a man. Although he had never met the man in person, he had seen his face in the news. Cane Brawn. But he was better known in the crime world as Cinderblock. That name was given to him when a bunch of guys took cinder blocks and started to beat the 7 foot giant with them. But Cane wasn't even effected in the least little bit, thus leading to the nick name. The reports also said this guy never talked either, but you don't need words to speak volumes, especially when people turn up face down in a river with their heads violently crushed in.

'_Now what the hell could this behemoth be doing here? One way to find out I guess.'_ As soon as both men entered the warehouse, Kale left his position and quickly walked over to the corner of the warehouse door and peered inside, just to make sure nobody was looking. With both of their backs turned, Kale quickly crept into the building and knelt behind some stacked crates without being noticed.

"Alright Cinderblock, lets get out of here. We did the job, now lets go. My television show will be on soon, and I don't wanna miss a second."

"Grrr."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever." With that said and done, the two men walked back towards the door and left, without noticing their little teenage visitor.

As soon as he heard the truck's engine roar up and speed off, Kale got up from his hiding spot and moved over to where the package was. He hadn't noticed, but he had been holding his breath almost the entire time, and his heart was beating like crazy. When he finally reached the crate, he took one last look behind him to make sure nobody would be coming."

"Well now Kale, now that you're here in front of this thing containing God knows what, what are you going to do? You could just walk away and forget this thing ever happened, or let your curiosity take the better of you and find out what's in there, and why its so important. Hmm. Walk away, open it. Walk away, open it." While he was saying this, he was moving his arms up and down to mimic a scale, weighing out the options. "Walk away, open it. Screw it, I'm opening it. Just hope its not a bomb. Now that I've decided to open it, the question becomes, how?" Kale glanced around the room until he found a crowbar jutting out of another crate that was across the room. "That'll work."

He went over to the crate, picked up the crowbar, and walked back to the crate that had so spiked his interest. He rammed one end of the crowbar into the crate just below the lid, and began to pry it off. With one final grunt, the last nail came free and the lid fell backwards, leaving the crate wide open. Kale peered inside, but jumped back in surprise. _'Holy Crap!' _What he saw that had scared him so much was a skull that was staring right back at him. Kale's heart was beating like crazy and he was sure he was going to have a heart attack and die right there on the spot. He laid his hand over his chest where his heart was, like that would help anyway, and tried to calm himself down.

'_Calm down Kale. Its just a skull, it cant hurt you. Nothing weird about that, right? Oh yeah right.' _He crept back up to the crate, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that the skull was merely an image on a mask. _'God Kale. Jump to conclusions and scare yourself to death why don't ya.'_ Kale lifted the mask up and held it right in front of him. _'You know, this is pretty cool, but what's it for?' He held it to the side and looked back into the crate and spotted a couple sheets of paper. 'Now this could tell me something.'_ With the mask tucked under his arm, Kale reached out and brought the papers to him. _'A letter? Lets see what it says.'_

Mr. Slade,

The prototype battle suit that you requested of us a few months ago is finally complete. Everything that you have asked of us has been incorporated into the suit. A list is attached to this letter containing all the components. If anything is missing, or you have any questions, contact us immediately.

Shirumari Weapons Co.

'_Battle suit? Well I guess that explains why someone like Cinderblock was delivering this. And who is this Mr. Slade anyway? Oh well, not my problem right now. Now, lets see what all this baby is capable of.'_ Just as the letter had said, a list was attached to it with all the components of the suit.

1. Power Core Belt. This suit needs a very special fuel to operate it, synovium ore. While it is unstable, it is the only power source that can activate the system. And because of its unstable nature, we suggest that you change the synovium ore every week. We have already supplied you with one vial of this fuel, but if you need a supplier, our contact in Jump City, Professor Chang, has a very generous supply.

2. Enhanced Ability Process. The suit works on a microscopic scale. As a person is wearing it, the suit increases the abilities of said person, such as speed, agility, and strength. Muscle enhancement is what you asked for, but we decided to add a little extra for the cause.

3. Weapons. This suit has a very unique weapon touch pad sensory based system. In the palms and fingers of the suit, there are sensors. Each sensor has a different weapon designed to it. Just touch the sensor in the finger to that in the palm and either palm lasers, constrictive binding gel, retractable wrist razor blades, or projectile shurikens will be activated.

4. Vision Settings. As requested, the three vision settings you asked for are here. There is the standard normal vision, as well as night vision, infrared, and x-ray. All can be activated by the touch pad sensory system integrated into the fingers and at the temples of the mask.

5. Cloaking/Teleporting Mechanism. In the center of the power core belt, there is a button dial. The dial has two settings, cloaking and teleportation. The cloaking setting, when activated, disrupts the light waves to the sensors in the eye of any observer, rendering the battle suit, and its occupant, invisible. The teleporting setting does exactly as it says. When activated, the suit will seemingly disappear, and will then teleport to the coordinates spoken into a receiver. But this system has its limits and it can only teleport within a three mile radius. Preset coordinates can be programmed prior to use and activated by a key word.

6. Voice Modulator. Integrated into the mask is a voice filtering device. When the person inside speaks into the modulator, it distorts the sound waves from the vocal chords, completely disguising and changing its sound.

If any problems should occur, contact us immediately.

Kale let the papers fall back into the crate and picked up the rest of the suit. _'Wow. This thing is freaking amazing. This is the kinda power I wish I had.' _A smile started to form across his lips as he brought the suit close to his chest and looked around to see if anyone was watching. _'But it sure as hell isn't safe with these people. Maybe I should take it, just to keep it out of the wrong hands' _he rationalized with himself. As quickly as he could, Kale stuffed the battle suit into his backpack and put the lid back on the crate. And with that, he turned on his heel and quickly walked out of the door, then calmly walked the rest of the way back to his home. Little did he know, that a security camera had caught his every move.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

'_Please don't let him be home. Let him be at that stupid bar. I do not want to face him. He will probably ask me where I was and then over exaggerate the seriousness of the situation. Please don't let him be home.'_ Kale walked up to the front door of his depressing house which fit perfectly with his depressing life he believed. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was though. It was a two story house that was actually kept in a pretty decent state. It was what was in the house that Kale thought was depressing. As quietly as he could, Kale opened the door and slipped in. But as soon as he turned around, Kale was greeted by his very angry looking father. His arms were crossed, his face was a little red, and as he breathed, the smell of alcohol wafted over and invaded Kale's senses. _'Oh great, so he already had a few, and he's angry. Perfect.'_

"Boy, where have you been? Why are so damn late?" he asked in a harsh and demanding demeanor.

"I… I missed the bus. Had to walk home" Kale quietly responded.

"What! Again! God boy, cant you ever do anything right? Its just a simple task of walking from your locker to the bus. What, get lost on the way there? God!"

'_Now how did I call that one?'_

"Ugh. Whatever. I'm going out for a couple of beers. Be back, whenever." Kale's father grabbed his coat off the coat rack, walked past his son, and violently slammed the door behind him.

'_Great to see ya dad. Love you too. Ugh, please.' _Kale inwardly sighed and walked into the living room to see his mother passed out on the couch with the television on. _'Typical.'_ He walked back to the hallway and went up the stairs towards his room. Even though his father was out of the house and his mother was just plain 'out', Kale quietly closed his door and locked it behind him. He didn't want anyone interrupting.

Within a matter of minutes, Kale was standing in front of his full size mirror on the back of his door wearing the battle suit. _'Wow, this looks freaking awesome, though this tight fitting material doesn't leave much to the imagination' _he thought as he turned in front of the mirror, examining himself at every angle. _'But still, freaking sweet. Now, a little customization to make it my own. I'm thinking maybe a cape, no wait, a tattered cape. Oh ya, that would look sweet. And maybe even a red x over the right eye and one right here on the chest' _he thought as he brought his hand up to where he believed would be the best place for the x. _'Hmm. Red X. I like the sound of it.' _With one final look at the mirror, Kale Riley, no, Red X smiled. "Time for some payback."

* * *

Ok, well that was the first chapter… Hoped you liked it… Maybe I was a little too mean to Kale and made the Titans seem like real jerks, but that is what I was going for… Hope this little fact doesn't make you hate it… And as far as how the Red X suit works, I really have no idea… I just came up with stuff that sounded good, total BS… But if it sounds good, then it works well with me… Maybe this will leave you wanting more… 

Special thanks goes out to a fellow author on that goes by the penname jbtheman… Great writer… He's helped out a bunch with checking this story for errors and changing a few lines around to make it flow a lot smoother… I suggest you check out his stories "The Webs We Weave: Venom Within A Raven's Heart" and "Of Flesh and Steal: A Cyborg Forever Jinxed" Good stuff there… And, also look out for his newest story, a Teen Titans/Spider-Man crossover, "Arachnophobia" From what I have proof read, it is freaking awesome… Laterz…


	3. Payback

Ok, here is chapter two… I will most likely go back to "He's Back" after this chapter, finish that story up, then come back to this one… So it will be a while till I update this story again… But until then, here is the story, and reader review responses…

**jbtheman:** Fried chicken is great, but I prefer lemons, hehe… People, don't ask… First off, let me say that I am surprised to hear that you don't like school stories… I mean, I can understand why, but they are just too fun… But I am glad to know that you do like this story… Making the Titans complete jack asses was fun… The suit's workings were all total BS, but I think we all like it… And there will be many cameos in this soon to come, so look out for them…

**Yami-Mark:** Yes, Red X does rule and that is why I decided to do a story on him… BB and Cy were played as I see typical teenage jerks act, and as far as Star goes, I wanted them all to be jerks, so I had to do the same… And I must say I like where I got things going here… As for the Red X/Raven pairing, I am trying to steer away from a romance in this story, but a friendship is not out of the question ;)… But we will see what happens…

**Max Knight:** Glad to hear that you think this is awesome… And if you haven't checked out that many school stories, I highly suggest you do… They can be quite funny, or serious, depending on the author… Either way, its all good in my book… And as for if I was bullied… Well, I will admit that I was, but it never got as bad as lemons in the eye… As for the Raven scene, she was there so this is still Titans… I am a huge Raven fan so I wouldn't have a story without her… Now if you were wondering why she wasn't part of the Titan's group in this, well I like her too much to make her a jerk… And besides, I got big things in mind, but you will just have to wait and see…

**Dr. Evans:** I almost hate to say this and possibly lose a reader, but if you don't like my idea, you don't have to read it… Nobody is forcing you to read this and I don't want you to bear with it… But if you like it, then read it…

Ok, before we get started on this, I wanna let ya guys know I added something in the last chapter that wasn't there before… A special cameo that I felt just had to be in here… So, if you go back to the first real chapter to where Kale is tripped in the hallway, you might just see someone ya know ;)… Ok, on with the story…

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or any other DC character… I own Kale and I wish I owned the Red X suit… Oh, and when life gives you lemons, make lemonade… Then go out and find someone who life gave them liquor, and have a party (I strongly do not condone drinking…)

Fall can be quite an interesting time of the year, as it is full of changes. The leaves begin to change from their normal green color to that of a beautiful mixture of yellows, oranges, and reds. Even though they are dying, they still look amazing in doing so. The weather begins to fluctuate between summer and winter highs and lows, but mostly stays at about an average, comfortable degree. The sun begins to rise later in the morning and set sooner in the afternoon, sometimes keeping the morning in partial darkness. On a day such as this, another change would occur, yet not one that happens naturally due to the tilt and rotation of the Earth. No, a much different change was about to occur.

Dick had just gotten out of Victor's car. He may have been rich, but Victor's car was custom built and was tricked out to no end. Everyday, he came and picked up Dick, Kori, and Garfield and drove them to school, since it would be a crime against nature if they had to ride the yellow limo service the school offered, aka the bus. Apparently, Victor actually helped construct it, for he was obsessed with cars and loved everything about them, even more than his love for sports. When Dick had asked what he called the car, since Victor named everyone of his inanimate objects, he had answered by saying it was the T-Car. When asked what the 'T' stood for, Victor replied by saying that they were the titans of the school, the highest of the high in the student social stature, and that the titans deserved a sweet ride named after them.

"Ah Vic, have I told you just how much I love that car of yours?" Dick asked as the group of 'titans' started walking out of the student parking lot and towards the trail. He had his arm around Kori's waist and held her close, like any real boyfriend should.

"Ya man, about a hundred times. And before you ask, I ain't selling it."

"Ah man, why not? What's it gonna take for you to sell me that thing?" Dick asked half jokingly, half seriously.

"First off, its not a thing, its my baby. And I might consider selling it, IF you take off those sunglasses of yours."

Dick just turned to him with a dead-pan stare. "That, is not going to happen."

Victor smiled to himself at his friend's weakness. "Exactly my point."

"Can I at least drive it sometime?"

"We'll see dude, we'll see."

"Alright then. That's all I ask, for now" Dick said as a smirk came across his mouth.

"Dudes, today is finally the day I ask her out" Garfield spoke up, tired of the car conversation. He usually grew bored within thirty seconds of any conversation, that is unless it had anything to do about the latest video game, or women.

"Who, Terra? Dude, good luck little man" Victor said, patting the shorter teen's head, as if to stress the fact that he was the shortest of the two, let alone their whole group. Hell, he might even be the smallest teen in the entire school. Maybe.

Garfield just batted the hand away. "Hey, hey, hey. Watch the do man" he said while slicking back his hair. Why he did so who knows, for its so short and spiked that nothing could mess it up, especially not a friendly hand pat. "And I don't need no luck, I gots my famous Garfield Logan charm." To stress this, he smiled and shone all his pearly whites, with even a little sparkle appearing as he did so.

"Pfft. Whatever, ya fat cat." Victor said this last part softly, but Garfield twitched a brow and shot him a cold stare.  
"What, did you just say?" he said with a very angry looking expression on his face.

"Nothing" Victor said waving his hands in an innocent manner.

"Be quiet you two, we're coming up on the creek. Oh, I love this part of the trail, its so quiet, relaxing, and utterly peaceful" said Kori.

Due to the construction plans of the school, the city council had agreed to leave a part of nature intact around the back part of the school, including trees and a creek. It was mainly for scenery, but the science and art classes used it for research and inspiration. But Kori didn't care about that though, she just loved the peacefulness of the babbling water running under the bridge of the trail.

"Yeah guys, pipe down or else. Whatever my girl wants, she gets. Got it?" Dick said in a joking yet threatening manner that instantly shut up the two talkative teens behind him and his girlfriend.

From a few meters behind the 'titans' of Jump City High, the silent, dark newcomer walked all by herself, with a novel in hand, but was able to read it with very little success. _'Its about time those two shut up. But with my luck, they will start up soon enough. And even worse, now I cant even concentrate on my book. Damn these people. Why was I forced to here again? Oh, now I remember, my bastard father.'_ She let out a heavy sigh and put the closed novel under her arm, all while glaring at the group in front of her.

"Ah, I just love the creek, don't you Dick dear?" Kori asked softly.

"Hm? Oh, ya. Its pretty amazing" he responded, obviously not caring or paying too much attention to what was said. He was at this moment distracted with his own little, trivial thoughts, though he didn't believe they were. Mainly, how he was going to torture Kale. He may have hated school, just like any normal teenager in the world, but he enjoyed and even looked forward to torturing the kid that did nothing to deserve it. It was just, fun. What more of a reason do you need than that?

Dick's eyes where wandering all over the place, completely bored with the situation, until he looked up, and what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

Kori noticed this as his arm fell away from her waist. "Dick, what is the matter?" she asked while turning around to face him, only to find him staring upwards. She in turn turned her attention to where Dick was staring, and her reaction was about the same as her boyfriend's.

Garfield's and Victor's attentions were completely focused on the discussion at hand, whether or not playing video games was better than being with two women at one time. This particularly strange conversation was brought up due to another one of Garfield's comedy shirts. This one was a 'Good, Better, Best' shirt, with video games as best, beating out being with a girl, or even two girls.

"Yo, are you kidding me? Check this, being with two chicks is way better than playing video games" said Victor. (I do not agree with this statement… I just own the shirt, and love playing video games… This is, however, based on crap I get from other people who disagree with the shirt, but I don't care… A shirt is a shirt, and I would rather play games, so back off people…So sorry to any women readers out there for this little part…)

"I'm not saying that's not true, but I love video games, and this shirt expresses that point."

"Oh, big word for such a small kid."

"Shut up. Look, I like both. Games and girls. The best though would be being with two chicks WHILE playing video games."

"I heard that!" Victor shouted and the two began fist pounding and high-fiving each other, so they were caught off guard when they accidentally walked into Dick and Kori. "Hey man, warn us next time when you decide to stop right in the middle of the trail."

"Sorry guys, but look up there" Dick replied softly, almost inaudibly.

"Look up there? Look up where?" Garfield asked a little annoyed and confused.

"Look up there" Dick said a little louder, pointing in the direction he was trying to indicate to his friends. They finally got the message and looked up. But their mouths dropped open in response to what their eyes beheld.

The dark new girl was getting agitated with the conversation that the big kid and the elf were having. _'Video games vs. multiple women. My God, don't these people have anything better to talk about? I swear, they have the minds of children. So immature and shallow, these two are. And as luck, or my lack there of, would have it, I get to be stuck right behind these two dolts. Out of all the people in the school, I get stuck behind them. Gee, lucky me. God, will someone make them shut up?' _As if on cue, just as she asked herself this, the two dolts, as she called them, actually fell silent. _'Thank you whoever did that.' _She looked forward to see what was up and noticed everyone along the trail had stopped moving and were all looking up in one direction. _'Now what's going on?'_ The girl looked up to where everyone else was looking, and her eyes widened from what she saw.

There, sitting lazily on top of one of the lamp posts that lined the trail, was someone completely adorned in black. With one leg bent up with an arm on top of it, and the other leg dangling off the lamp post, he looked pretty relaxed. A slight breeze past by, picking up his tattered cape, and it fluttered for a few moments in the passing wind. He was looking up himself, but he was looking towards the sky, more like the moon that still hadn't set yet.

All was quiet as everyone stared at the lone figure that had so captivated everyone's attention. The stark and dreary silence was broken by a certain someone. (Three guesses who it is, and the first two don't count…)

"Hey man, I don't know if anyone told you or not, but you're a little early for Halloween. Come back in a couple of months why don't ya?" Dick called out quite loudly, trying to gain the attention of everyone around him... everyone.

There were a few nervous laughs audible from Dick's group, but everyone else was deftly silent. The person atop the lamp post slowly turned his head and glanced at the person who had interrupted his moment of peacefulness. Kori let out a small 'eep' of terror and clung onto Dick's arm, for when the mystery man turned, the image of a skull with a 'red x' through the right eye could be seen on his face. But this was the only reaction Dick got from the mysterious stranger, for after his slight glance, he turned away and stared back into space.

Now, we all know Dick Grayson is one of the most popular teens attending Jump City High. And because of this, he thinks a little too highly of himself, or vain as one might put it. Very vain indeed. So one can imagine his annoyance when he was pretty much ignored by the dark mystery figure.

Dick gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, for he did not like being ignored. "Hey man, I'm talking to ya. What, are you deaf or something?" Dick asked snidely.

"If I were deaf then how is it that I responded to your first remark? No matter how small it may have seemed, I still responded. So think of something else, that is, if you can. Though, I sincerely doubt it" the figure said, not even turning to face Dick. But when he spoke, his voice sounded warped and distorted, to something that boarder-lined on mechanical, although a bit of humanity still rang true.

Dick twitched at the mystery's response, and grew angry, more so than he already was, but he tried to hide it. "If you think you're such hot stuff, then why don't you come down here and fight me and my boys here" he gestured to Garfield and Victor. "That is, unless you're afraid."

Garfield seemed a little nervous at this, but Victor took a step forward cracking his knuckles and neck, seemingly all too eager to get in a brawl with this person shrouded in mystery. "Hey ya, I could use a warm up before school" he said confidently.

"Ah, hiding behind your larger friend huh? I guess that's easy enough, since you could have a mega mall grand opening, two county fairs, and a three-ring circus behind him." Victor started to fume at this, but the insulter just smirked behind his mask. "But ya know, I have wanted to test this suit out in a low stakes situation where I wasn't in any danger. You know, like a test run. And this seems like the perfect time to do so." With that said, the boy turned his body away from the others in a motion seemingly of indifference. But that would soon change as he suddenly fell backwards, with legs clinging onto the lamp post, resulting in the masked boy coming to an upside down stare off with Dick and his crew. Cross armed and apparently confident he gave a little laugh. "Three against one eh? I must say, I like those odds, and let me tell ya, they are definitely not in your favor."

Dick was fed up with this talk. "Guys, get him."

Victor bent down in a charging stance at Dick's command. "I thought you'd never ask."

Garfield was still a little hesitant, but he still got into a fighting stance, a weak and poorly executed one, but one none-the-less. "Um, yeah, lets get this guy."

"Oh, how rude of me, I almost forgot. Where are my manners? We haven't been properly introduced. The name's Red X" he said coolly. "There we go, my conscious is clear" Red X said with a fake sigh of relief.

"Who cares what your name is? Get him!" Dick commanded.  
Red X merely smirked from his upside down position. "Come on kids, 'X' marks the spot" he said while tapping the crimson colored x that went across his chest.

Victor let out a low snarl and charged forth with his arm raised for a devastating blow. "Argh! You're mine punk!" he yelled out as he rushed towards his target. But Red X's only reaction was a slight raise of his brow, and nothing more. Victor was now in range and thrusted his fist forward right at Red X. But right before his fist made contact, Red X disappeared into thin air, leaving Victor confused as he was thrown off balance.

"Huh? What the? Where'd he go?" Victor asked as he quickly turned left then right, surveying the area trying to find Red X. "Ha! The little punk must've chickened out and fled the coop. Guess I showed him, huh guys?" he said as he kissed on of his muscles vainly. But as he turned to face his friends, his smug look turned to one of questioning. Dick, Kori, Garfield, and few other onlookers were just staring at him, eyes wide and mouths gapped open.

"Uhhh guys, what's up? Why are you all looking at me like I just grew a second head? Come on guy's, someone tell me what is going on!" Victor asked in a very nervous voice. He was starting to get worried.

"Uh, dude?" Garfield said pointing at Victor.

"What? What is going on?"

"Dude, just look."

"Look where?" Victor's only answer was Garfield's finger pointed at him, shaking rapidly in his direction. He finally got the point and turned his head towards his left. What he saw made him stand dead still.

"You know, I always thought that all jocks were all brawn and no brain, and I guess I was right. Took you forever to figure out what 'Skinny' over there was talking about. My God, you're slower than a tortoise when it comes to these things." He rested his elbow on top of Victor's bald head while having his own chin snug against his hand. From his indifferent body language one could say he was either utterly relaxed, or totally bored. "Man, and here I thought I was going to be able to really test this suit out, but this isn't even a challenge" he said in a mock depressed voice. Obviously, he was bored.

It took a while for Victor to snap out of his dazed state, but when he finally did so, he was pretty pissed. "GRRR! Why you little!" He reached over and grabbed at Red X, but he was already gone. "Argh, where'd he go this time?" Victor asked more to himself than to anyone around him, obviously very frustrated.

"Try looking down a little. You know, you are taller than me, so that means that you probably cant see me in you direct line of vision from way up there."

Victor looked down, and right in front of him was Red X. "You're gonna get it now punk!" Victor punched right at Red X, but he just moved to the left, side-stepping the attack. Victor let loose another punch, which ended up with the same results. He started to move forward while he attacked, pushing his target back. A right hook, a left jab, and upper cut, a left hook. All were evaded fluidly by Red X, who elegantly and gracefully weaved in and out of all the oncoming punches.

'_Thank you speed and agility enhancement.'_

"Argh, stand still why don't ya!" Victor yelled as another one of his punches was dodged.

"Now tell me. Why on earth would I do something like that? Red X asked as he evaded another punch. "Hmpf, too slow."

Victor only smiled. "Ya think so?" Just then the last punch that had been thrown turned into a back-hand grab, which completely caught Red X off guard and by surprise.

"Well now, I guess you're not as dumb as you look" Red X said as he was jerked violently in front of Victor, both arms held firmly at the side by his attacker from behind.

"Yo Gar, you wanna lend a hand?"

"I'd love to, but I think a foot would have a much better effect" Garfield said as he stepped forward towards the two combatants. A devious smile played across his face as he came closer.

A similar smile came onto Victor's lips as he realized what his friend had in mind. "Hehe, foot. Say, why not got straight for the 'family jewels?'"

"Dude, you read my mind."

"Hehe, come on guys. Cant we work something out? Make a deal or something?" Red X asked in what seemed like a seriously pleading voice.

Victor and Garfield stared at each other for about a second then returned there gazed towards Red X. "Naaaaaah" they said in unison.

'_Oh well. I tried.'_

Garfield reeled back for a second, then let his foot fly, going straight for the mother of all under-the-belt attacks ever created by man… literally. His foot went forward, right on a direct course, but at the last second, Red X disappeared right of Victor's grasp. With too much force and momentum put into it, Garfield could not stop his kick-in-progress. It landed exactly where it was supposed to land, but not on the intended target. For a spilt second, Victor's eyes went cross-eyed, then went back in his head a little. He clutched at his groin (like that actually helps) and keeled over. He fell on the ground in the fetal position in a twitching heap.

"Ow, that's gotta hurt" Red X said from the railing of the bridge where he had escaped to. "There goes a couple generations right out the window" he said with a light chuckle.

"Dude, are you okay? I'm sorry. One second he's there, the other… Come on man, speak to me!" Garfield pleaded to his downed friend. The only response was a slight groan of pain. Garfield then turned to where Red X was. "That wasn't cool dude" he said in an angry tone.

"Oh, I don't know. Seemed pretty funny to me" Red X said replied nonchalantly. This only seemed to accomplish making Garfield angrier.

"You're gonna pay for what you made me do to my friend!" Garfield yelled out as he charged forward in a blind rush, arms flailing around like windmills. Right when Garfield got within striking distance Red X disappeared, leaving the small attacker right at the edge of the bridge over the creek.

Red X appeared right below his attacker, and in one smooth motion, he swept Garfield's feet out from under him and pushed him forward. "Watch your step." This act caused Garfield to fall over the railing and plummet down into the creek.

"AAAIIIIEEEEEEE!" SPLASH!

Red X got up from his crouching position and stared down at the now soaking wet Garfield. "Hehe. Looks like the jokes on you." He then turned to face the last two members of the 'Titans' as Victor had called them, Dick and Kori. One had a look of anger, while the latter had a look of fear. "Come on kid, don't ya wanna play?" he asked, indicating to Dick. "Your other friends were quite fun," Red X said as he gestured to the creek and Victor who was still laying on the ground, "for the short time they lasted. Come on kid, I just wanna see what you can do, or rather see what I can do to you."

To say Dick was angry was an understatement. He had seen two of his best friends taken down so easily, by one crazy guy in a Halloween costume. And now this same nut job is just taunting him, like he's nothing. His anger usually got the better of him most of the time, but he intended to make this situation an exception to the regular path he usually takes. "Before we start though, I have one question. Who are you?"

Red X raised a brow and scoffed at this ridiculous question. "Hmpf, and here I thought you were smarter than that" he replied with an indifferent shrug. This only made Dick angrier, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth. But he was determined to keep his cool. "I believe I went over the introductions, but as it seems you are too dense to remember, the name's Red X. as in the 'red x' on my chest and forehead" he replied, indicating to the spots on his body he just mentioned.

"Now who's the one who's dense here?" Dick scoffed and Red X narrowed his eyes at this. "No, that's not what I'm asking. I want to know, WHO are you?" Dick restated, pointing at Red X.

"Ah, now I see. I understand now" Red X replied sarcastically while playfully smacking his forehead. "Everything is all so clear. But to answer your question, I will ask one of my own. If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?"

That did it. Dick had tried to keep his cool and he couldn't keep it any longer. Enough was enough. Dick rushed forward and wildly attacked at Red X. His punches were fast and furious, but they were sloppy and poorly executed. He put too much force behind them and not enough skill. Because of this, Red X was able to dodge these attacks easier then Victor's.

"Kid, you are really taking life way too seriously. Loosen up a little. It will do you a world of good."

Dick let out a roar of frustration and anger and punched right at Red X's face. But at the last second, his target disappeared and Dick went stumbling forward.

"Dick, are you alright?" Kori called out worriedly from the side. "This… this is all so wrong."

"You know cutie, the only thing wrong here is that you and I haven't gone out on a date" an all too familiar distorted voice whispered into Kori's ear. She turned slightly to face the skull mask of Red X. "Oh come on, you've probably dated every guy in this entire school by now. What's the difference if ya go out with some dark stranger you never met before. Knowing your kind, I wouldn't be surprised."

Kori's face flustered with embarrassment and anger of what she had just heard from this person. He had pretty much just caller her 'easy.' She turned quickly and swung her arm around to back-hand her insulter, but Red X was no longer there.

"But then again," Red X said as he reappeared right behind Kori, backs facing each other. "You really aren't my type. You're too preppy, high spirited… and loose" he smirked. "I actually prefer someone who is a little dark, like me." As he said this, Red X turned around and there was the dark new girl. So to prove his point to the snobbish redhead, he blew a kiss and then winked towards the violet haired girl. Her reaction was one of complete shock, and maybe something more.

'_Huh, so that's what she looks like when her face isn't buried in a book. She really doesn't look to bad. Oh well, back to the matter at hand.'_ He then turned his attention back to a fuming Kori. "In other words cutie, someone who is the polar opposite of you. Bet ya thought someone like you, especially you, would never get rejected. But guess what…"

Kori yelled out and took a swipe at Red X's face, but she only slashed at air. "You just did" a small whisper echoed in her ear.

"Get away from her!" Both Kori and Red X turned and stared at a very cross looking Dick. His face was completely red with anger and if this were a cartoon, Red X could totally see steam rising out of Dick's ears.

Red X only smirked at this though. "You know kid, its not nice to interrupt the adults when they're talking." Dick got even angrier at this. Being called a kid constantly was pissing him off, but Red X didn't seem to notice, or care. "Maybe we should close that mouth of yours for now." He extended his arm with his palm facing upward, and with his index finger he reached down and the weapon sensors in the finger and palm connected, activating the weapon. The crimson x in the middle of his palm started to glow brightly which brought a smile to Red X's face, but of course no one could see it on account of the mask. But the smile disappeared from his lips as a high pitch whirring sound could be heard and a laser beam erupted from his palm and headed straight for Dick.

With little room to spare, Dick ducked down out of the way as quickly as he could to dodge the blast. He succeeded mostly, except his hair wasn't so fortunate. While his person was not harmed at all, his precious jet black hair had been singed. Everyone, including Red X, fell deafly silent.

'_Whoa. Hehe, you know, I was not going for laser beams here. I don't wanna kill anyone. Okay, lets hope the next finger I try actually activates the constrictive binding gel.'_ Red X once again raised his palm towards Dick, and everyone stared horrified at what he was about to do. They thought he was going to fire another laser beam, unknowingly to them that he had a various array of weapons at his finger tips. He wasn't going to activate the laser this time... at least that's what he hoped. This time he used the sensors in the ring finger and again the crimson x began to glow. But there was no whirring sound, and this time he was rewarded with the gel, which shot out and connected with Dick's face, wrapping itself around it to cover his mouth. "There we go, much better."

With that said and done, and with everyone else incapacitated with either fear or pain, Red X disappeared. But as soon as he did so, he reappeared on the very lamp post he had been sitting on earlier. "Well, what can I say? Its been a blast. Thanks for the fun." He then turned to Dick who was still struggling with the gel wrapped around his face. "Oh, better luck next time" he said while jumping off the lamp post. And as he was vanishing, Red X called out one last word that was heard loud and clear. "Loser."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Okay, note to self! Before going into a fight, first find out what weapon each finger activates" said Kale as he removed the skulled mask. He was now on the roof of Jump City High reflecting on what had just happened. "So I NOW know that the index finger activated the palm lasers and the ring finger is for the constrictive binding gel. The middle finger is for," he put out his hand and touched the weapon sensors in the middle finger to the one in the palm. The crimson x on the back part of his hand started to pulse and then grow. The x had soon extended to an 'x' shaped razor blade and began spinning around violently. "Wow. Well if that isn't the perfect weapon for this finger. If this doesn't scream 'screw you' I don't know what does." he pressed the middle finger sensor again and the blades retracted back into the ashen gray glove.

"So, index for lasers, middle for 'screw you' blades, ring for gel," he counted off, "so by default that means that the pinky is for the projectile shurikens. Alright then, I think I got this down." Kale leaned back against the wall of the roof entrance and slid down it to a sitting position.

"But where the hell did that all come from? My strength, speed, agility, weapons, all of that came from the suit. But my attitude, my confidence to stand up to those jerks. And that kiss I blew towards the new girl. I mean she's not that bad looking really, but where did all of this come from? This is one hell of a huge change. The old Kale Riley would never have the guts or the courage to do any of those things I just did." He then looked down at himself and then back to the mask. "It is the suit" he realized. "It is the ability to hide behind this mask. Once I put this on there is only Red X, no Kale Riley."

He then rested his head against the wall and looked up towards the sky. "Well, I said you had damn well better have something big planned for me, and I guess ya did. And may I say, I love what you had in mind." Kale smiled to himself as he got up and quickly changed back into his civilian clothes. "You know, I think I'm gonna enjoy this new life. But now that I have this suit, this power, what am I going to do with it?" He shrugged it off. "Oh well, that's another question for another time." and with that, Kale opened the door and went into the school. After all, he didn't want to be late like some people.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was a dark, steam filled room, with rotating and grinding gears all over the place. A single man stood in front of a wall of screens, each depicting something different on it. One had the schematics of the stolen prototype suit while another was displaying a video sent from Shirumari Weapon's Co. that showed the suit in action.

"Well now, it looks like whoever stole the suit from me has just activated it. Interesting. From these readings, everything seems to be working perfectly. This young man is the perfect guinea pig for this. But, I need to know who you are" the man said as he leaned in closer to a screen that held a still frame sot of a young male who was in the middle of the act of stealing his suit. "You are proving to be most useful. And thanks to the secret tracking device I had Shirumari install, I now know everywhere you've been, and everywhere you are. And soon, I will know everything I need to know about you, my little test subject."

* * *

Ok, that's the end of chapter 2... Be back whenever I finish "He's Back"… Till then… Laterz… 


	4. For Better or Worse

Ok people… I am super dooper ultra mega sorry for the lateness of this next chapter… I had to finish up my last story before I went back to this one… What can I say? That's just the way I am… Ok, so after a while of waiting, the new chapter is here... But first, the reader responses…

**Max Knight:** Yes, it kinda is like Spidey… As you can tell, I am a huge Spider-Man fan, and so I like to add a few things from that story into this story, with a few twists here and there… Hehe, yes… The Titans did get what they deserved, the little bastards… The kiss was predictable? Oh well, its what I wanted… And as for what I have planned for Raven, you will just have to wait and see… But I have been talking with JBTheMan a lot and he is convincing me to put Raven and Kale together in this, so it may actually happen, but who knows… And yes, Slade is a sick bastard ain't he? And we all love him for that too… Oh, and I did check out your Titans story… It is pretty interesting I must say… Hope ya continue…

**JBTheMan:** Ju crazy monkey man ju… Dick is a dick and he got what he deserved… Yaaay… And not only was it fun to read the Red X scene, it was fun too… And who cares if he was being mean to Kori? Its funny! And of course ya like the groin hit, you suggested it remember? Anyway, glad ya like the story… Oh, and if ya want more Spidey, go check out He's Back… Its finally done ;)

**Red X 228:** Ya, this story is also on Media Miner… Don't ya just hate the way they have that review system set up over there? Grrr… Oh well, ya get to read and review here though… Yaaay…

**The Arbiter:** Yup, if I had the suit, I would so mess with people of high jerk stature…

**ShadyLover:** I did!

**Faith-Catherine:** Oh, I am a huge Spidey fan… Cant get enough, oh ya… And yes, some of the stuff that happened in the first chapter was inspired by the comic, but not all that happened to X was based off of Spidey… Some of it was actual real life stuff that happened to a certain author… Oh well, who cares bout that? Well, I'm glad you really like this story and I'm sorry it took so long to update…

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Glad to hear you like the story… So read on and you will see what I have in store…

Well people, its finally here… You have waited long enough and your patience has been rewarded… I think by the end of this chapter, you will agree that it was worth the wait… For this story, it has been a goal of mine to stuff in as many cameos as possible into this story… So, bonus points goes to anyone who can spot the most cameos in here… Now, you can stop reading my continuous ramblings and start reading the actual story… Go on… Read…

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any other DC character that may show up at some point in time in this story for that matter… In order to make a pie, you must first create the universe…

* * *

By the time first period had rolled by, the entire school was aflame with gossip of the incident that had occurred earlier this morning with the mysterious black-clad person. For no reason what-so-ever it seemed, this Red X as he called himself, had shown up at the school and 'attacked' several students. No one was hurt too badly, save for Victor who was still incapacitated in the nurse's office, and he wasn't even harmed by Red X. It was indirectly his fault, but Garfield was the one who delivered the blow. Actually, the only action that Red X did that could be considered an attack would be the laser beam shot out towards Dick.

Such a traumatic event should have the school take extra precautions and maybe even cancel all classes. But of course, with the school officials being, well, ya know, evil (like they always are!) school went on as scheduled like a normal day as if nothing had happened.

The entire school was already gossiping about the event, blowing the entire story out of proportion. Just like these kids eh? But a certain group of teens knew exactly what had transpired, for they experienced it up close and personal.

The scene was as normal as any other in a school hallway. A group of teens were hanging out by the lockers during passing period between classes. And on this day, their conversation topic was a normal one. Though on any other day before this one, it would have been a little strange. Talking about some guy running around in some Halloween costume terrorizing teenagers isn't something you hear everyday. (Maybe it is, I don't know… Watch the news people)

"Dude, who the hell was that guy?" Garfield asked his two friends.

"I do not know, but he was more of a creep than anything else," Kori answered.

"More like a freak. But the tech that guy was wielding was crazy. I've never even see anything that advanced before ever in my life. Well, maybe in cartoons, video games, and movies, but not in real life."

"I think the most important issue here guys is why this guy was after us in particular, and no one else," Dick added from his once silent position.

"Ya, Dick's got a point here. Why us? What did we ever do to him?"

"But, who would want to harm any of us?" Kori asked, as if she really was clueless to the reason. "Have we really angered someone so much that they would do something like this?"

"Well Kori, I can think of one person who would be angry at us, but it is just impossible for it to be him."

"And… who would that be Dick?" asked the spiky haired imp.

"Him." With just a nod of his head in one direction, Garfield and Kori turned their attentions to the one Dick was indicating. Kale Riley was down on the ground rummaging through the lower part of his locker. He was either trying to hide something, or find something. From their vantage point from this distance, it was hard to tell.

"Riley?" Garfield broke down in a fit of laughter right there on the spot. "Dude… you crazy. I mean… sure, he may hate us, but… he is too much of a poon to do anything," Garfield said with much difficulty through his laughter. "He's spineless, gutless, weak. Just look at him and compare the two. While Red X may be a little skinny, he has muscles."

"And you would notice this… how?" Dick asked with an inquisitive tone and a cock of his brow..

"Shut up," the smaller of the two boys replied quickly. "Anyway, while Red X has a somewhat muscular build," he paused, daring Dick to say anything, which he didn't. "Riley over there is lanky as hell. Come on dude, there is no way they are one and the same."

"He does bring up a very good point Dick."

"I know he does, and its very rare when he has one," Dick said with an evil grin.

Garfield obviously didn't hear the comment made at his expense. "And besides, where would Kale even get that kind of technology? He would have to steal it, and we all know what a goody two shoes he is."

"Hmm… I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Garfield said while crossing his arms with a look of superiority. "Did you ever have any doubts that I wasn't?" he added with a somewhat mocking yet serious voice.

"But that still leaves the questions, who is he, and why us?" Dick continued to ponder on the subject. He was really digging deep into this matter

"Dude, let it go for now, I have. Go make out with your girlfriend like usual then get to class." The black haired boy started to turn a light shade of red from anger at this but Garfield didn't notice. His attention was elsewhere at the moment.

"I on the other hand have other important business to attend to. It's a shame Victor is still 'incapacitated' cause then he could see me totally score big points with her."

The 'her' to which our little imp here was referring to was Terra Markov. To Garfield, she was the object of his affection, the apple of his eyes, his unattainable angle. Yes, to him she was unattainable… but not for long. This girl was a true beauty to him. She had long, silky smooth blonde hair that was about the same length as Kori's. She was about the same height as Garfield, and this little shorty was just fine with that. Terra had the biggest and most adorable eyes one could ever see. They were deep blue that one could only find in the most purest of water, captivating even the most selective of males. To Garfield, this girl was going to be his... oh yes... she was going to be his.

"So if you'll excuse me, I've got some shmoozing to do." He started to advance towards the girl of his dreams. Each step bringing him one step closer to his ultimate goal.

"Shmoozing?" Dick asked to the receding Garfield.

"Ya, you heard me. Shmooooozing baby. Oh ya," he answered looking back over his shoulder.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble Gar, but it looks like someone already beat you and moved in on your territory," Dick called back.

Garfield's calm and smooth demeanor went rigid at these words and he whipped around to see what his friend had meant. He stopped dead still as all his hopes and dreams to be with Terra were dashed upon the rocky shores of reality.

Standing right next to Terra was a boy that everyone knew about, Orion Weaver. He fit the perfect description of the words 'pretty boy' for that, in a sense, was what he was. He had long ebony hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. He wore a tight fitting black shirt that hugged his muscular physique quite nicely. His jeans were of an onyx color and were tattered at the feet. To complete his 'dark' appearance, he had a scar running along right below his right eye. He never spoke about how the scar came about, only adding to the mystery surrounding this kid. And as we all know about quiet mysterious boys, this guy was a 'chick magnet'.

He was standing right next to Terra, and as Dick had said, he was making his move. All Garfield could do was stand there slack-jawed in total shock and a little horror as the girl of his dreams was stolen away, right in front of him. He couldn't tell what was being said, but when Terra started to giggle, he knew it was of nothing positive for his chances. His fears came to reality as Orion leaned down to the girl and planted a firm kiss right on her lips as they embraced in a hug. After a little bit of time, their lips parted. Orion wrapped his arm around Terra's shoulders and the two walked off down the hallway, leaving Garfield completely devastated.

The heart broken teen just stood there, completely dumbfounded at the events that had just occurred before his very eyes. His fists balled up in anger as the realization that Terra would never be his. He was fuming and he needed a release. He needed to let this anger out. But where, on what? He glanced over to his friends who had a some what somber look on their faces. He couldn't stand to look at them right then and there and so he turned away, and his eyes fell upon Kale Riley. He was still rummaging through his locker doing God knows what.

'_Where, on what… or who?'_ There was no need for rationalization or for sneaky antics. He was angry, and what better way to release that anger then on a certain 'punching bag' you had been using for years.

He walked right up behind Kale and just stood there, undetected. Sure, this might not resolve his problem, but he was certain he would feel so much better once he let his anger out. He didn't care about the consequences, he didn't care who he hurt. His anger was eating him up and it needed to leave… now.

Garfield reared back and got ready for the big granddaddy of all his kicks. He let his foot fly and it tore though the air. And this time, he didn't miss his target. His foot plowed right into the rear of Kale and sent his head slamming right into the back of his locker, where a resounding slam and a cry of pain could be heard.

"Well, I feel better," Garfield smiled smugly and started to walk off.

Kale wasn't able to get up for a second or two. He was completely caught off guard, not to mention he was now in a serious amount of pain in two places instead of one.

'_DAMN IT! That hurt like a bitch! Ow, just… Ouch! What the hell was he thinking? That really hurt! Man, where is a teacher to witness this heinous crime when ya need one? Seriously, Ouch!'_

But as it just so happened, Kale's wish was not just some wishful fantasy, for a teacher did in fact see this.

"Hey you! What do you think you were doing?" the teacher said as she grabbed hold of Garfield's shoulder and forcibly turned him around "What you just did was horrible. What could you have possibly been thinking?"

Garfield was too startled to say anything. He just stood there in the teacher's grasp, utterly speechless.

"Well young man, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Silence.

"Well then. I want you to report to Mr. Mod's detention room after school. Do you understand what that means? You have detention. Now, get to class." With that said, the woman let go of Garfield, and the boy scurried off to his class. Kale was sitting right in front of his open locker during this whole thing.

'_Well, it looks like there is justice in this evil school of ours. Serves him right. I'm just glad I don't have detention, otherwise I would have to be stuck with that loser longer than I needed to. And that is something I really don't want.'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

RIIINNG!

The bell had rung, the students were in their classrooms ready to be bored to death with the seemingly unending teachings of their educators, and the halls were devoid of any signs of movement. Yes, all was quiet in the halls of Jump City High, except for one single individual who was sprinting down the hallway faster than a bat out of Hell.

'_Crap crap craaap!'_

Kale was barreling down the halls as fast as he could. He was late yet again for his next class and this was something he could not afford. Sweat was starting to trickle down his forehead as he rounded another corner.

'_Damn school officials. How the hell do they expect me to get from one end of the school on the third floor to the completely opposite end in the gym in only ten minutes? Plus the fact that the halls are severely overcrowded, not to mention I have to stop at my locker to drop my stuff off. Stupid school.'_

His chest was heaving rapidly from all the running and he needed to catch his breath, 'needed' being the key word here. Kale knew he needed to stop, but he also needed to keep going, otherwise he would be really late, even more so than what he already was. And so he persevered through the rising pain building in his chest and side, running like the wind.

'_God, why don't I just use the Red X power core belt and simply teleport from one side of the school to the other? I would never be late again. Oh man, that would sweet. Oh, but wait. I know why I don't take the easy way. Using the belt would give away my identity as Red X, and I would so get my ass kicked by that Dick and his crew. They must really want a piece of me. Well, not me to say, but Red X. They probably want to rip him to shreds. And who could blame them? I did royally humiliate them, which was so much fun might I add.'_

Kale was coming up on the final corner that would lead him to his final destination. He was so close to his next class, he just had to get there as quickly as possible. He doubled his pace and sped towards the last corner.

'_Hmm… I wonder if I could just use the belt without the suit. That could be useful knowledge and its something I will have to test out someti-yaaah!'_

Unfortunately for our hero, Kale was paying more attention to his thoughts rather than his own well being. Running with reckless abandon. If only he had been paying attention to the way ahead when he rounded the last corner, he would've noticed the janitorial warning of "Caution: Wet Floor." He slipped on the slippery surface and went straight down on his backside, skidding across the floor. And even more humiliating, this sight was actually quite comical, what with the flailing arms and the abrupt crash landing right into a wall.

'_Ow, that hurt,' _he thought while rubbing his aching head._ 'Stupid janitors. Why don't they put warnings out to warn ya of wet floors and what not?'_ Kale glanced over to where the floor had so offended him and noticed the bright yellow sign with bold red and black lettering.

'_Damn, how the hell did I miss that? Wait, why am I contemplating about this? I gotta get to class!'_

Kale picked his pitiful self up from his position on the floor and bolted for the double doors leading to his goal and his next class, gym. He burst through the doors and was greeted with the sight of the last of the students heading into their designated locker rooms.

'_Crap, crap, and double crap, I am really late.'_

Kale turned his attention to where his class was positioned in the giant room. There were only two people standing there, Victor Stone and Kale's very cross looking teacher. Kale slowly trudged his way over to them, staring at his feet with such intensity, you would think that he had some strange infatuation with them.

"Riley, late yet again I see. Why are you late this time?" his teacher, Mr. Atlas asked. Atlas was your typical looking gym teacher, you know, the one that would tone their muscles to insane extremes rather than hitting the books? Though from the looks of it, Kale guessed he did hit books every so often, literally, just to show those evil, evil books who was boss.

"Sorry Mr. Atlas. I kinda got out of my math class late and I kinda slipped on the floor on the way here and I-"

"Excuses excuses" Mr. Atlas interrupted. "Why cant you just be on time like the rest of the students? Is that too much to ask? Even Stone here," he gestured to the muscular teen, " is on time, and he just came from the nurse's office with some sort of, uh… What was it again Stone?"

"Problem, Mr. Atlas. Let's just leave it at that," Victor replied. Although Atlas didn't notice, Kale saw that as Victor answered the teacher, he slowly closed his legs with a slight cringe.

'_Ha! So he is still feeing the hurt of that kick to the groin that fat cat Garfield gave him.'_

"Right… problem. Anyway Stone, like I was saying before we were interrupted,' Atlas glanced over towards Kale and the teen grimaced slightly and back pedaled. "You are excused from today's activities on account of this little problem of yours. But I want a full recovery soon. We need ya on the playing field for football season."

"Yes Mr. Atlas," Victor answered.

"Now as for you Riley," he looked back to said boy, "I should give you a detention for being late… again. But I'm giving you one last warning. After this, that's it. No more chances. Got it?"

"Yes, I got it," Kale responded with a little happiness in his voice.

'_Whew, dodged a detention bullet right there.'_

"Okay then. Now go get changed and get ready for class. And Stone," the teacher added turning towards the teen, "even though you are excused form today's activities, I don't want any trouble out of you. You can walk around the gym, do homework, whatever. But no funny stuff. If you do anything remotely stupid, I will give you a detention so fast your head will spin. Ya got me?"

"Yes Mr. Atlas," Victor replied.

Atlas sighed to himself as he watched the two boys take off towards the lockers. For some strange reason, he had a feeling it was going to be "one of those days." One of those days where things just cant help but go from bad to worse. What could possibly be next? Atlas didn't know, but in the pit of his stomach, he could just feel something was going to happen.

Victor decided that even though he still had his aches and pains in a certain area, he was still going to pester Kale to no end. He caught up with the boy and walked beside him with only ill intentions in mind.

"He's late, he's late, for a very important date," Victor repeated jokingly in a musical manner. He was hopping up and down while still being beside his target.

Kale turned towards his harasser with a sour look and just glared at him. "You know what? Just shove it will ya?"

Victor's lips curled up into an evil sneer as he looked towards Kale and what lay beyond him on the opposite side. Now this was a place where every guy only wishes he could go. The spoiler was the extreme punishment and the sheer amount of slaps he would receive. Yes you guessed it. The girl's locker room.

"Hehe, if you insist." And with a quick forceful shove, Kale found himself completely off balance and sailing out of control. He tried to right himself, but he just couldn't. He fell through the opening of the room and plunged right into a row of lockers, with the back of his head and his butt taking the blunt of the landing.

'_Ow!'_ Kale slowly stood up and started to dust himself off. _'Damn it, how many times am I gonna get hit… or fall… today?' His thoughts were completely stopped as he stared at the sight before him._

There, right in front of Kale, was the new girl. The dark girl herself, but he saw her in a different light at this moment. Actually, he saw her in something he thought he would never see. And seeing her like this was something he especially wasn't expecting. There this girl was, standing right in front of him, clothed in only her unmentionables.

His eyes traveled up her smooth pale legs, noticing just how perfect they looked. His staring eyes continued upward, catching every little detail as he could. The little black laced silk that hugged her body tightly around the hips made him shiver. The thin straps leading inward towards her lower stomach that dipped down in the center made him gulp. His wandering eyes continued their journey up her waist and skimmed past her flat stomach and slowly to her blossoming chest. The laced black straps and thin obsidian material were completely trivial. Kale plainly couldn't help but stare at this girl's budding cleavage. She was well built for her age, that was for sure. Kale tried to pull his shameful glare off of the girl in front of him but couldn't. Her body was mesmerizing, to the point of breathlessness.

As Kale's captivated eyes continued to aimlessly stare, a question suddenly popped into his mind. Why did this girl wear such conservative clothes anyway? She had such a nice figure she should be showing it off a little bit more. The baggy clothes completely hid her very feminine curves and to him that was a damn shame. Maybe she wouldn't be as much as an outsider if she dressed a little differently. He would have liked to see her in a little less concealing attire once and awhile, but then again this 'sight' was more than he could ever ask for.

Kale continued to move his gaze upwards until it fell on the girl's soft pale face which was framed perfectly by her shoulder length purple hair. She was staring right back at him with a questioning and shocked expression that seemed to ask "What the hell are you doing in here?" The girl's violet eyes suddenly enlarged with realization and she quickly looked down at her exposed body to see what she was wearing, or what she wasn't wearing for that matter. Her head snapped back up with a great velocity and her questioning look had transformed into a very cold glare.

Kale back pedaled out of fear, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. The glare only intensified. Kale attempted to apologize but the word 'curves' that was being drilled into his mind by his inner consciousness kept interrupting. He just continued to gawk at the half naked girl in front of him, and only succeeded in making this predicament worse.

Every inch of his mind was screaming at him, 'Avert thine eyes!' but Kale couldn't help himself. He knew he should look away, but he just couldn't. He needed help, help from some outside force because he alone just wasn't cutting it. For his sake, or his troubles, that outside force was about to make itself known.

"You are a bad man!"

Kale's eyes were finally torn from the captivating sight and whipped his gaze around to be met with a very angry Kori. She had her clothes held up in front of her attempting to hide her exposed body. Out of nowhere it seemed she started to throw random items such as a hair brush, deodorant, a shoe, and among other things towards the invading boy in a room specified for a girl's privacy.

"OW OW OW!" Kale covered his head from the incoming projectiles and started to bolt desperately towards the exit.

The girl throwing the objects continued to hurl them relentlessly with reckless abandon shouting such things as "You pervert!" and "Letch!"

Kale finally made his way to the exit way and was met with a snickering Victor.

"What's the matter Riley? Having some problems with the ladies? Hehe."

Kale stared at the boy with a glare, but then he just leaned back against the wall and let out a heavy sigh. "Ya know Vic, you may have thought that was torture, but that was far from it. But if you thought it was torture then by all means, be sure to do that sort of 'torture' more often please." The smaller of the two boys gave the other a sarcastic wink and the other scowled.

"Why you little…" Victor was about to reach for Kale, but a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

"Stone? What's going on here?" Mr. Atlas asked with ferocity in his voice.

Victor turned to his teacher and merely shrugged. "Nothing Mr. Atlas. We were just-"

"Just pushing Riley here into the girl's locker room. What were you thinking? Did you think that was funny?"

Victor just stood there with a stupid clueless look on his face. "Uhhh…"

"I said I didn't want any trouble from you mister. And what do I get?" Atlas asked rhetorically while Victor just continued to stand there. "I get trouble. And you know what that means don't ya?"

". . ."

"Detention!"

"Crap."

"Now go back to your seat and don't move till I say otherwise."

As Victor slowly trudged off to where he was ordered to, Mr. Atlas turned back to Kale, who seemed to look completely relaxed, happy even. "Riley. You doing okay? You look a little goofy."

Kale lowered his gaze from the ceiling and stared at his teacher. "I am doing just fine. Couldn't be better." Even though he was aware of it himself, Kale couldn't get his ear to ear smile off his face.

Atlas just gave him a skewed look. "Well, good to hear that. But don't get any weird ideas. This time it was an accident, but if I see you trying to go in there again on purpose, your butt is so getting thrown in detention."

Kale responded with a half hearted nod and Atlas just shrugged it off.

"Oh, and I will try my best to keep the girls from killing you this period. Dodge ball could get a little messy. But after school you are on your own." Atlas didn't wait for a response from the boy because he knew he wouldn't really get one. He turned on his heel and strode away shaking his head.

Kale returned his glazed over stare back towards the ceiling, remembering the few moments of heavenly bliss he had experienced only a few minutes ago. He didn't even hear his teacher's last statement. He just stared out into space a million miles away.

'_Wow. Just… wow.'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Ah, the last period of the day. Is there anything more agonizing than it? Well, ya, there is… but we wont get into that. Anyway, the last period of the day. The time in which a student's mind is in one of either two places. One, his or her mind could be focused on the studies at hand, listening to the teacher's lecture trying to do well in the class. The other place a mind could go at this time would be off in another world, contemplating about a countless number of things. Like the freedom of getting the hell out of school, hanging with your friends, or just plain goofing off. Which do you focus on during your last period?

Well boys and girls, its safe to assume that we can honestly say that our minds tend to drift. And that is exactly what was happening to Kale. But his mind was not really focusing on something that he would be doing after school. No, his thoughts were on a different matter.

'_The lace. Black lace. Black silk lace. Lacey lacey lace.' _

Oh ya, the lace.

Have you ever seen someone with a really big and goofy grin plastered on their face? You know, one you might get from getting a kiss from the girl or boy of your dreams. Well, that was what Kale had on right now. He was sitting in his desk with his head propped up on his arm, staring out into space. The continuous drivel spilling out of the teacher's mouth fell on deaf ears as Kale continued to reminisce on today's earlier events.

"Now students, in Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet is torn between himself, contemplating the decision to either live or commit suicide. _"To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of trouble. And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep, no more."_ Now, can anyone tell me what events lead up to Hamlet's inner argument?"

Kale continued to stare. He didn't hear his teacher's question for his mind was off in another place miles from here in this classroom.

'_The lace. No, I shouldn't think about this. I need to pay attention. I gotta concentrate on something else.'_ Kale paused, trying to focus on the teacher's lecture but he couldn't. His mind began to wander yet again. _'Skin. All that skin. Wow, I never thought I would ever see that much skin on a girl before.'_ His goofy grin grew even more as his thoughts continued in this fashion. Though in retrospect, he really should have been paying attention, no matter how blissful the memories were.

"Can anyone tell me? Mr. Riley, how about you? Can you tell me what lead to Hamlet's inner argument?" the teacher asked with a little irritancy noticing Kale's empty stare.

He wasn't even paying attention.

"Mr. Riley?"

Still no answer, just more staring.

"Mr. Riley!" the teacher yelled as she slammed her palm against Kale's desk, hoping to snap him out of his daze. Her plan worked as Kale was suddenly shaken from his day dreaming as he jumped in his desk.

"Wha… what?" he asked completely oblivious.

"Can you tell me the answer to the question?" the teacher asked a little exasperated.

"Uh… George Washington?" Kale asked hesitantly.

Suppressed cackles started to manifest around the room as Kale stared nervously at his glaring teacher. After a stern stare from angered eyes it was silent again... for Kale a bit too silent.

The teacher sighed as she returned her stare back to the boy who had obviously not been paying any attention what-so-ever.

"So, the reason why Hamlet was so distraught was because of George Washington?" One could tell from the tone of her voice, the teacher was getting very annoyed. It was the last period of the day, and she did expect some students to be anxious to get out of class and slack off a bit, but this was just ridiculous.

Kale just stared nervously back at his teacher. His face had gone completely red out of total embracement as he was completely frozen, awaiting his fate.

"Kale, is it so much to ask for you to pay attention? Your study habits have never been that great, but they have never slipped like this. I'm sorry, but I am going to have to give you a detention. Maybe that will get your mind back on task." The teacher walked away from the boy and went back to her teaching.

Kale just sat there. He could feel the many staring eyes that were on him, but he didn't care. He had gotten a detention. And while that in its self wasn't that bad, he had gotten them before, it was what, or rather who was waiting for him in detention. Suffering through an hour and half with Garfield Logan and Victor Stone was going to be Hell.

'_Well, this sucks.'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

"Ello my duckies, and welcome to detention. For the next 'our and a half, you blimey little snots have the pleasure of spending that time with me, Mr. Mod."

This cooky little British lad's name was Mr. Mod, or as some of the students called him, Mr. "Mad" Mod. Why they called him this behind his back was for many reasons, but the best one would be that they just thought he was just plain nuts. And who could blame them? All you had to do was take a gander at his attire and you too would call him mad.

The crazy man in question wore a long sleeve button down shirt with the image of the British flag covering every inch of it. And below that, his legs were adorned in white bell bottoms. His eyes were very narrow, being slightly magnified by a pair of mini bifocals. His teeth were that of a stereotypical Brit, being of a yellowish color and very crooked. To top it off, his hair was a crimson red that even rivaled Kori's.

'_I wonder if anyone has told this guy that the we won the American Revolution. Hmm… must be in denial or something.'_ Kale took a look around him to see who else had gotten in trouble to be stuck in detention. Garfield and Victor were a given for obvious reasons. But the surprises never stop coming for his kid... for better or worse. And in this case it was worse. It looks as if Dick had decided to get into some trouble as well, and he wasn't looking too happy.

'_Oh goody goody. That Dick is here too. What an unexpected surprise. Jeeze, I am just the luckiest person on Earth aren't I?'_ Kale paused on that thought and smiled slightly. _'Well, I'm kinda lucky.'_

He continued to glance around the room and spotted another person sitting in the room, all by his lonesome. It was Eric 'Fang' Matthews. The boy wore dark blue jeans with a skin tight ebony T-shirt, and covering the shirt was a leather studded jacket. His auburn hair was slicked back completely like someone from the 80's. Kale didn't really know why the boy usually went by the name Fang, but he figured it was just a name to make himself sound tough.

"Ok you miserable lot, its time for roll call." Mod picked up his clipboard and read the names off one by one.

"Grayson,"

"Here."

"Logan,"

"Here."

"Matthews,"

"Here."

"Riley,"

"Here."

"Roth,"

There was no answer.

Mr. Mod looked up from his clipboard and glanced around the room. "Oy, is miss Roth here? Raven Roth?"

'_Roth? Raven Roth? Who is that and why does that name sound so familiar? I know I've heard it before… somewhere.'_ Kale continued to contemplate but his questions would soon be answered.

Just then, the door to the room opened up and everyone turned to stare at the new arrival to the prison of school that was detention. There standing in the doorway was the new girl.

Mr. Mod stared at the girl who was late to detention then back to his clipboard, readjusting his bifocals. "Acting up in class again I see miss Roth."

Kale's mouth dropped at the sight of the girl. _'That's Raven Roth? Oh crap, this is gonna be awkward.'_

Raven just shrugged indifferently. She walked right past Mod and headed towards a desk. She slung her backpack over the back of the seat and sat down. She slightly turned around to rummage through her backpack and pulled out a very extensive looking book and began to read.

"What kind of rubbish was it this time missy?"

Raven didn't even answer and continued to read. Mod was a little irritated with this and his eyebrows began to twitch. But he quickly shook it off and continued the roll call.

"Stone,"

"Here."

"Right then. Now that all you little buggers are here, here are the rules. There shall be no socializing of any kind what-so-ever. You may study, do your 'omework, or any other kind of busy work, but no talking. There shall be no rough housin' either. Do I make myself clear?" His answer came in a few slight nods.

"Right. Well, I have to go to the teacher's lounge and pick up a few things myself. So I expect you little snots to be on your best behavior." Mod smiled to himself as he walked towards the door. "I sure do hope those blimey teachers have those biscuits I love so much. Mmm… biscuits," he silently added as he walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Mod, the room was alive with activity. Heh, so much for the rules eh? Dick, Garfield, and Victor were talking amongst themselves and it seemed Dick was getting angrier by the second for some reason. Fang was just sitting there with his arms crossed, trying to look as bad ass as possible. Raven was still engrossed in reading her book, and Kale was just sitting there staring at his desk.

'_Heh, she probably hates me. Cant say that I blame her. I mean, I did catch her at a very awkward time. I should apologize though. It was an accident after all, I'm sure she'll understand.'_

Kale slowly turned in his seat to face Raven, and he found her glaring at him with great ferocity. He shrank back a little bit in fear at this. Kale regained what little composure he had left and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' He was too damn nervous to say it to her straight on and this was all he could do. His apology seemed to have been disregarded like a piece of garbage as Raven just went back to her book.

Kale sighed to himself and turned back to the front of the room, but he was greeted with the sight of Dick and his little gang.

'_Great, what could it be this time?'_

"So, I hear you were sneaking peeks at my girlfriend in the girl's locker room," Dick said not beating around the bush. He went straight to the matter at hand without the meaningless talk.

Kale's eyes widened out of shock. This was something he wasn't expecting. He turned to face Victor who was only snickering with an evil little smirk on his face. Apparently Victor had just happened to neglect to mention anything about him pushing Kale into the locker room, leading to the brief glimpse of Kori, and she was covering herself up anyway. Still, to Dick this wouldn't even be an issue. Any little thing that could lead to punishing Kale would be fine with Dick, no matter who's fault it was.

"This does not bode well for you Riley. No one is allowed to see my girl like that. Ya hear me? No one!"

Dick's anger was rising and Kale feared he was gonna get the snot beat out of him right then and there. He needed a miracle, and a miracle was what he got… more or less. At that moment, the door knob to the room began to wobble and the door began to slowly open up. Kale turned to the door then back to Dick and his crew, only to find them already in their seats, quite as the dead.

'_Wow, they sure move fast.'_

As the door opened to its fullest, Mr. Mod returned to the room with a stack of papers tucked under his arm. He also had a cookie sticking out of his mouth held onto by his crooked teeth.

"Hmm, I do love me biscuits." Mod turned to the group of trouble makers in his class room and stared at them. "I see none of you little snots did anything that broke any of the rules. That's good to see." (Coughyeahrightcough)

Kale turned in his seat towards Dick and found him just glaring at him, almost with as much ferocity as Raven had been. When Mod had his back turned to seat himself down with the papers, Dick pointed at Kale as if to say "You'll pay for what you've done.'

'_Great, so now two people want to kill me. Wow, what next?'_

"Now, I don't want any of you whipper snappers acting up while I'm working, ya little miscreants got that?" Mod was only answered with silence and that was just what he wanted.

Kale turned his gaze downward towards his desk top and just stared at it.

'_What am I gonna do to pass the time? I don't have any homework to do and just sitting here is boring as hell.'_ Kale continued to ponder his query until an idea finally hit him. _'Hey I got the time. I was wondering about this matter earlier today, and what better time than now to think on it? What am I gonna do with the Red X suit?'_

Kale sat there in deep thought, trying to think what he could possibly do with his new found power.

'_Well, the first choice that comes to mind would to become a super hero. I mean, that's every person's dream isn't it? To become a hero that everyone looks up to. But, I just don't know. I mean, I'm not really the hero type of guy. Not everyone likes to play the hero. Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, I could be a super villain. But, I'm not evil. I don't want to destroy the city or take over the world or some other crazy nonsense like that.' _

Kale set his forehead down on the desk in exasperation. He couldn't for the life of him think of what he wanted to do with himself.

'_Ugh, this is difficult. What do I want for myself? Not anyone else, just me? Wait… just me. Looking out for number one. I never really have had that great of a life, God knows what I've been through. Aren't I entitled to some kind of reparation? I think I deserve it, due to all the crap I have had to endure. So, what can I do with this power that can get me the things I want and not have to worry about taking on the responsibilities of doing something for or watching over others?'_

A sly smile started to form across Kale's lips as an idea struck him.

'_I could become a thief. Not really good, not really evil. I would only be looking out for number one, me. I wouldn't need to worry about anyone else. The cops could never catch me, what with all the gadgets at my disposal. I could get anything I have ever wanted. Yeah. Red X, the master thief. I think I'm gonna like being me from now on.'

* * *

_

Well, that's it… See ya in the next chapter… Laterz…


	5. First Strike

Ya ya, sorry, for the lateness blah blah blah… Lets face it, you guys don't want to hear my excuses, you want to read the story… Ok then, I will shut up… But of course, reader responses first…

**JBTheMan: **Good Lord man, do I have to douse you in cold water? Get a grip… Its just Raven in her unmentionables… :drools: Ok ok, I see your point… And yes, Kale/X rules, though I'm not sure about the pimpness of that… Oh well… Ya, I too have gotten sick and tired of the norm one finds on this site, but the serious problems start now and the comedy will be toned down a bit… And sorry to say, but I don't think there will be anymore duckies and biscuits…

**Max Knight: **Well at least someone knows how to control himself… Good for you for dousing yourself with cold water :glaring at JB: Yaaay, my touch is not lost! Ya, poor Kale, but he rules… But he didn't see Raven naked, just close to naked… She still had her unmentionables on, but ya, that was funny (and fun) ;) Starbolts you say? Hmm, didn't notice that but that is cool… Hmm, Terra and Orion, I'm not sure either, hehe… Yaaay! We rule… And I cant really give ya any recommendations, cause everyone likes different things… That, and the fact that nothing comes to the top of my head right now… Just go out and find something ya like…

**Martson: **YES! FINALLY! Someone else who doesn't like Beast Boy… Its about freaking time… Hooha! But you don't like Mad Mod? Bummer, he silly… An exceptional chapter you say? Why thank you so much… Atlas just seemed like the perfect candidate to be the gym teacher, so I figured, what the hell, why not… Uhh, don't think I can use your Malchior idea, but you did give me an idea of using him in this story, so I shall say thank you for that… And this is one of your favorites? I feel loved now…

**Grievous Shakar: **:mechanical voice: Doomo arigato Mr. Roboto

**Faith-Catherine: **Wow, I knew I was gonna get some grief on that scene, I just thought I would get a lot more than just one… That scene was put in there for comical reasons, and will hopefully play into something in this chapter, at least I hope it does… So, it was meant to be comical, not meant to offend, so I am sorry if it did… Guy thing? Ya, I'm a guy… But other than that, glad you liked it… Sorry, it did take long…

**dimmy52: **I updated!

**Dragon and Sword Master: **Who is the Kyle Riley of which you speak? I know not this Kyle… Hehe, just messing with ya… Kale, Kyle, I understand where the mix up came from… But come on, ya gotta keep Red X a thief… Being a super hero is just meh, and we already have the villain, gotta have some kind of dark hero, neutral really, so a thief works best… Also, thieves are cool… Me a Metroid fan? Hell, the closest thing I've ever played that is even remotely close to Metroid would be Super Smash Bros. only because Samus was a character, and I didn't play as her… So no, I'm not a Metroid fan, I just thought up that name and thought it was cool…

**krb 1 rush: **Its getting good? I thought it was good… Hehe, just kidding… Glad you like it… And you're hooked? Ouch, that's gotta smart a little bit, but glad to hear it ;) Yes, Red X is the greatest and no worries for finding this story late… It happens all the time… I'm just glad you reviewed…

**Spawnguy: **Hey Spawny ;) Hehe, just messing with ya, I know you hate to be called that from JB… You are impressed with this fic? Yaaay! But word of advice, if ya like this, don't read my others… Not very good they are and embarrassed I am of them… X following a Spidey line? Yup, I get a lot of inspiration from the Ultimate comics, love that stuff I do… Ya, sorry I couldn't use your first theft idea, but hopefully the one I used works well for you, it does for me anyway…Talk pics? I'd love to… Send me some stuff sometime and we talk and then I do the same…

**gracie320: **Good story? Glad to hear it… Oh, and by the way, I updated…

**Shadow49:** I try and make it a good AU story, and if someone says so, then my work is done… Well, not really… I still have to finish this story don't I? Ya, good to know that Raven actually had a real name, Rachel, but Raven just sounds so much better so I keep it Raven… So ya, that was kinda useless info wasn't it? But hey, did you know that cats had two sets of vocal chords? Think on that on ;)

Ok people, if you couldn't tell by now, I've updated this story… Yes, I know… Yaaay! Ok, real quick thing before ya get started… This chapter starts up the more serious problems in the story, so the comedy will be toned down a bit from hear on out… Also, for later on with X mask, think of it like the Batman Beyond mask… Kinda like a cloth, but a crap load of tech and circuitry in it as well… Ok, that's all… Now get to reading…

* * *

The Disclaimer: I do not own the Titans, nor any other DC characters that may appear at some point in time in this story… And you know what? WAKKA WAKKA DOO DOO YA! 

The night was young. The moon glowed a hazy blue in the midnight sky as clouds passed by, temporarily obstructing its view. But even with these clouds in the way, the light from tonight's full moon above shown through. The city of Jump was basked in the moonlight as its residents slept soundly.

The waters by the docks lapped up against the shore, caressing the sandy beaches with its ocean charm. The light from the majestic moon reflected off the glassy surface for the water, giving off a radiant glow that completed this peaceful midnight scene. Yes, all was utterly calm and peaceful in this quiet city. And as we all know, when there is such tranquility as this, especially in this city, it is bound to be disrupted by some loud noise.

CRASH!

Called that one. But where could this sound have come from in this sleeping city? Well citizens, you would find the source of the disruption not far off from the sandy beaches. In an old run down and abandoned automobile factory and warehouse, one would notice signs of activity in this once thought empty and forgotten building. Another loud sound resonated from this structure's hallowed halls.

"Yahoo!"

Ah, apparently our hero Red X was in this very building. Let's look in on him shall we?

"Wow, this suit is freaking amazing! I mean, I was limited to my first test run cause I didn't want to hurt anyone. But now that I don't have to worry about anyone else's well being, I can really cut loose."

A crate across the room exploded into tiny splinters with a blast of crimson energy.

"Ha! Bulls-eye. These things are pretty powerful," X said while looking at his upturned palms. "Hmm… I might not want to use them against people, even if they do get in my way. That crate over there, or what's left of it anyway, was proof enough of the destructive power this thing holds. I think I may just save these for demolition purposes only."

Red X looked around the giant room filled with the destruction he himself caused. He was testing out the suit's powers and limitations, but so far he was just having way too much fun blasting the hell out of crates. The floor was littered with splintered shards and strewn about auto parts which the crates held from within. Well, one can never have too much practice with aiming. After all, practice makes perfect, does it not?

X glanced over to another part of the room and saw something that made him smile with glee. Sitting there collecting dust as if it hadn't been touched in ages, was an old beat up car. A blue Toyota Corolla from the looks of it. But the type and year didn't matter to Red X, for he had just found his next test subject.

"Hmm… If I remember correctly, this suit amplifies my strength through muscle enhancement, or something like that," X said while looking down at himself in the sleek body suit. "Let's just see by how much."

X walked over to the vehicle and stood in front of it, sizing it up, trying to figure out where oh where would be the best place to grip the car. He bent over and grappled the car by the front and was getting ready to lift with all his might.

"Now, remember X, you should always, and I do mean always, lift with your knees. Never your back."

Red X let out a grunt as he began to try and lift the car in his grip. He continued to pull and pull on the object, but no matter how hard he tried, the car wouldn't leave the ground completely like he wanted. He may have lifted the front part 1 inch, maybe 2 at the best, off the ground, but he was straining himself with that. X let out a sigh as he relaxed his grip and rested his head on the hood of the car.

"Crap. Well, I guess I'm not as strong as I hoped. Hmm…"

Red X once again gripped the car and began to try and lift it again.

"Come on… you lousy… piece… of cr-yaah!"

It seemed that X was pulling just a wee little too hard, for he had been trying so hard that he accidentally ripped the front bumper clean off the car and fell backwards from the release.

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned now did it?" Red X asked to no one from his position on the ground looking at the bumper in his hands. He got up off the ground and continued to glare at the object in his grasp, as a smile came across his concealed lips.

"Well there's more than one way to skin a cat. And there are more ways to test strength." With that said, X took the bumper and in a single motion, he bent it into an arch shape.

"Heh, not bad." He tossed his test aside and strode back to the car. He didn't even pause as he dug his fingers under the hood of the car and ripped it clean off the hinges. "Not bad at all," he said with a smirk.

"Now, one more weapons test to go," X said while looking at his wrists. With a simple toss, the hood was air born. A whirring sound began to sound from the twin X blades extending from the back of Red X's ashen gray gloved wrists. As the hood fell in front of him, X slashed at it in a criss-cross motion and instantly the hood fell apart into four triangular pieces.

"Sweet. Freaking sweet. But, I think the same rule applies here as the lasers. These are too dangerous to use against people. Demolition only."

X looked away from his wrists and towards the ceiling thinking he was just going to contemplate on his past events with the tests, but something caught his eye. And that something were the rafters overhead. In a blink of an eye, Red X was gone from his previous spot on the ground and was now up high in the shadow covered ceiling area.

"Short distant jumps could be helpful, you never know when they could come in handy. And I do need to work on balance and agility, so what better way to do this than to teleport jump from one rafter to another? Killing two birds with one stone," he rationalized to himself.

And so the death defying leaps and bounds began. X jumped into the air and disappeared. Seconds later he reappeared a few rafters over. His landing was a bit wobbly as he began to swing his arms to try and gain his balance.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Almost, no… come on come on come on…" In the end, his efforts were rewarded and he was once again balanced on the high up beam. "Heh, that wasn't too bad," X told himself, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was beating like crazy. Again he leapt into the air, disappearing and manifesting himself atop another rafter. Only this time his landing wasn't as shaky as his previous attempt.

"Well would ya look at that. I think I'm getting the hang of it already. A few more jumps and I call it a night. I do need to get some kind of sleep before my first theft tomorrow."

So his little jumping session began yet again, going from one rafter to the next with increasing ease. But as we all know, especially for this kid, hardly anything ever goes right with his luck, and this was going to be one of those times where luck just didn't seem to be with him at the given moment.

As Red X leapt off his last rafter and was ready to teleport, something happened… or rather, something that was supposed to happen didn't happen. He didn't teleport. Luck had forsaken him. Oh ya, this wont end well.

"What the? Craaap!" he yelled out as he plummeted downward.

'_Is this the end? Am I going to die right here, right now? Why isn't my life flashing before my eyes? Was it that short? Did it suck that much? Why haven't I hit the ground yet? Craaap!'_

CRASH!

It would seem that X still had some kind of luck for he did not become a pavement pancake on the hard concrete floor. Instead, his fall was broken by a large pile of crates. Go figure, since the very things he was blasting away saved his very life. Funny how things work out eh?

"Ow my freaking head, my freaking back, my freaking everything. That hurt! Thank God for this crate of," X glanced down to see that he was surrounded by, "break pads. Ugh, the irony of it all. Great. But what the hell exactly happened just now up there?" X asked to himself as he looked up to the rafters while rubbing his aching head.

Red X glanced back down at the power core belt and stared at it. He tapped it with curiosity but nothing happened. He tapped again and again and yet again his efforts were rewarded with absolutely nothing.

"Grrr… Why wont you work? Come on, come on!" In an act of frustration, he slammed his fist against the button and was greeted with a whirring sound of the belt coming back to life. "Sheesh, bout time. But the still doesn't explain why…" X didn't even need to finish his sentence, for a heads up display was flashing in his eye visors that read 'Warning: Synovium levels low. Suggest refueling.'

"Well, that answers that question," X said with a sigh. The boy leaned back into the pile of auto parts as he stared back at the ceiling in deep thought. Where the heck would one find such a fuel as Synovium? Red X pondered this fact with a great intensity, but nothing was coming to mind. He slowly sank back further into the parts as he continued to rack his brain trying to figure out where he could get more of the precious fuel he so needed. This couldn't be the end of the great thief Red X. Hell, he had never even gotten started with thievery to be granted the title of master thief.

"Well, this sucks. Come on Kale, think. You know you have heard where you can get your hands on the stuff, but where? Come on, think!" Out of frustration from this seemingly hopeless predicament, X slammed his head back inadvertently hitting it against part of a broken crate.

"Ow… that hurt." But while this act of self-inflicted pain did hurt just a little, it also jogged his memory of where he could obtain the Synovium which powered the suit. "Gah, who's the stupid one? Geeze, how could I forget? It was in that letter that came with the suit, Professor Chang. And I think I remember something about a Professor Chang secluding himself up in that old observatory on the outskirts of Jump City. I just hope that he has what I need, and that this thing has enough power for one more jump to get me there," the teen said while looking down at the failing belt. And with a press of the button, X was greeted with a whirring sound that brought a smile to his covered lips.

"Hey Changy, I'd suggest laying out some milk and cookies, cause Red X is coming to town."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

The wind was starting to pick up as the night air was beginning to chill. It was a sign that winding was coming and soon would be here.

The observatory stood upon its perch on the outskirts of Jump City, overlooking this sleeping metropolis. Clouds above concealed parts of the moon, casting eerie shadows upon the metallic structure. The large yet broken telescope was protruding from the opening in the building. A tarp was tied down to the telescope, covering this broken piece of machinery. Once used to gaze upon the stars and galaxies above, it was now a useless piece of junk.

Why the man named Chang had decided to seclude himself in such a desolate building was unclear to the public, but Red X figured it would be the perfect place to use as a criminal's stock house. A supply base for anything imaginable a criminal might need.

But at this moment, X had something else occupying his mind.

'_Damn its cold!'_

Ah yes, it seems our hero was succumbing to the weather like any other human being would. He was crouched on top of the telescope rubbing his arms trying to circulate warmth trough himself.

'_Brrr. Maybe its just the elevation of this place that is making me so cold. After all, the higher the elevation, the colder the air temperature.' _A cold breeze brushed by the teen chilling him to the core.

'_Or maybe its just really freaking cold! Okay Kale, you got two options. Either go in there and get the Synovium and possibly get warmer, or you could stay out here and freeze your ass off. Hmm… Oh yeah, real hard choice here.'_

And with the decision of all decisions made, X descended the shaft of the telescope down into the heart of the observatory. He noticed that there was a great lack of scientific machinery here, hundreds of crates occupying the room containing who knows what. A vast amount of artillery was laid about as well, ranging from the simplest of hand guns, to semi automatics, to rocket launchers. Canisters with harmful chemicals no doubt were dispersed around the giant room as well.

'_Good God! This guy's got everything he needs to start WWIII if he wanted to. Okay sure, he's missing a few fighter jets and tanks, buts still. Cripes.'_

X surveyed the area from his perch upon the telescope when he spotted what looked like a person standing in front of some crates taking inventory. From the looks of it, the man hadn't noticed X's presence, and he intended to keep it that way until he was ready to make his presence known. Who knew what this Chang person could have up his sleeve.

Red X climbed up a large stack of crates and began to creep his way along closer to the man. As he did so, X could pick out details he couldn't see before. The man had a tube of some sort coming out of his right nostril and leading down into weird looking bio suit, which gave him a bulkier appearance than he probably had. He wore a strange pair of goggles and an odd kind of box around his neck, connected to a large, metallic back pack it seemed on his back.

'_What a creep.'_

"Ah, everything seems to be in order. Hehe, I so hope this client will be satisfied," the man said to himself. He spoke with an Asian accent with a heavy lisp to his speech.

X continued to creep closer to Chang until he was right over him, watching his every move.

'_Well, it looks like I found my target. Better make a good first impression.' _X smiled to himself as he dove off the crates straight for Chang. The boy grabbed onto Chang's suit by the shoulders, completely catching the man off guard.

And with a flip and a throw, Chang found himself flying through the air, right into a wall. Not even having the chance to regain his composure, Chang was forced back into the wall by a hard grip. After his head had stopped spinning, Chang found himself face to face with the skull mask of this offender.

"So, you must be Professor Chang," Red X said in that distorted voice that his mask provided for him.

"Ah, you must be the lucky young man Mr. Slade has chosen to wear the battle suit," Chang replied with a toothy smile. "Hehe, how is it working out for you? Do you like your new and dangerous toys?" His voice raised in pitch showing his nervousness as clear as day.

Red X glared at the face of the man in front of him and sneered. This was the lowest of the low, pure scum. Someone he didn't even want to be associated with. But the reality was that X needed Chang to supply him with the precious fuel that ran his suit. And so, he would have to tolerate him, but that didn't mean he had to like him.

X didn't have time to answer questions, he wanted answers and results. He tightened his grip on Chang and slammed him into the wall again.

"Synovium, where do you keep it?" Red X said in his most threatening voice, cutting straight to the point.

With a grunt, Chang looked at X with a very nervous smile.

"Mr. Slade is a very important client, and Shirumari Weapons Co. takes good care of their customers, especially ones like Mr. Slade. The informed me of the project and told me to keep his supply of Synovium separate from the rest, hehe."

There was the name Slade again. This was the second time Red X had heard that name. Just who was he, why was he so important, and why the hell did he have this suit made in the first place? These questions were bugging X, but he needed to know where the Synovium was. First things first after all. He would deal with the other stuff later.

"Thanks for the update. Now where the hell is the Synovium?"

"Hehe, Mr. Slade's supply is over there, by the rocket launcher ammo," Chang responded as he pointed in the direction of said supply.

Red X looked to where Chang had pointed then back to the man and narrowed his eyes. With a violent tug, X flung Chang behind him and headed in the indicated direction, with Chang following closely behind, rubbing his hands together nervously.

Red X picked up one of the many yellow canisters and examined it. With a twist and pull of the lid, the canister opened with a hiss as the compressed air from inside was released. X glared upon the contents, smiling at the sight of the ten glowing red vials of the precious Synovium.

"I believe you will find everything to your liking. Please, take as much of the Synovium as you like, hehe."

"Thanks," X replied while closing the canister. "I think I'll do just that." With that said, X picked up a second canister and looked at it pleasingly. "This is enough to last me a good long while."

The boy turned to leave when something caught his attention. To his right was a rack of belts, power core belts, like the one X was wearing at this very moment. Chang noticed his staring and smiled his toothy grin.

"Ah yes, the extra power core belts. Shirumari Weapons Co. sent those over, just in case there were any… problems."

"Thanks for the info," the teen replied while eyeing the belts. "These extras could come in handy. I think I'll take a few of them." X reached out and grabbed as many belts as he could in one taking and flung them over his shoulder.

"Yes yes, please do, hehe. Take as much as you desire. Mr. Slade has chosen well who deserves to use that suit. Please do give him my best regards."

"Uhh… yeah, right." With his mission complete, X turned on his heel to leave.

"Thanks for the toys old timer. Catch ya later." With a wave of the hand in a mock salute, Red X jumped onto the telescope and ascended his way out of the observatory, out into the cold once more.

Once X had left, Chang proceeded to his desk at the far end of the room, where a small, 9in. Telecommunications screen lay. With a turn of the switch, a man shrouded in mystery and shadow appeared on the screen. Only the glint from his left eye could be seen through the murky darkness.

"Did the boy get what he came for?"

"Yes he did Mr. Slade, just as you said he would," Chang responded to the man on the other end.

"Good… then everything is going quite well. Now, lets see what the boy is capable of."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

It had been a day since X had visited Chang to get the Synovium. The belt was running as smoothly as ever, and now was the time to strike.

Red X stood on the rooftop of a building adjacent from his target, the Wayne Manor. In a metropolis such as Jump City, it difficult to build your mansion on the ground. But, if you were freaking rich like Mr. Wayne was, you would have no problem building your mansion on top of an exclusive building (imagine the Osborn's house in the Spider-Man movie). It would be no problem at all. A pent-house mansion, not a lot of those around. And X knew this was the perfect place to strike first as a thief. There was something in that house the X wanted and couldn't find anywhere else.

The night wind picked up and X's cape flapped wildly in the current. He continued to stare at his target. He was nervous and shaking, but only out of anticipation. He was excited.

"Well, I guess there's no time like the present." As silent as a phantom, Red X disappeared into thin air.

Just as soon as X had vanished from the rooftop, he emerged inside a darkened hallway of the massive house of Mr. Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson. As Red X's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he was able to look around and survey his surroundings. In the hallway mounted on the walls were various paintings one would expect to find in this lavish environment. Vases were perched upon stands lining the hallway in various places.

'_Alright, I'm in. Now, where are you?' _X crept along the hallway keeping close to the wall while humming the theme to Mission Impossible silently to himself.

'_Dun dun DUND DUND dun dun dund dund.'_

There was a light at the end of the hallway and what sounded like voices was emitting from the lightened room. X was too far away to make out what the voices were saying, but that sign of activity was all X needed to know. With a twist of the dial and a press of the button, Red X became completely invisible. Even though he couldn't be seen, X still continued to creep his way closer to the light and voices.

'_Great, I'm hearing voices and going towards the light. HA!'_

"Alfred, thanks for the message, I'll take the phone in here."

"Very good Master Dick."

X peered around the door frame into the room to see Dick and apparently his British butler, Alfred.

'_There you are my pretty,' _X said to himself as he smiled at the sight of his target. He entered the room silently but didn't go into it more than a couple of feet. He was going to wait till the butler left before he would make his move.

"You may leave now Alfred," Dick said with a shooing motion of his hand.

'_Perfect.'_

"Yes, of course Master Dick." Alfred began to exit as requested by Dick, but he paused and turned right in the direction of X and stared.

'_Crap. Can he see me? Of course not, I'm invisible. But still…' _X stared with baited breath back at the elderly man who seemed to be staring right at him.

But, and to the sheer happiness of Red X, Dick turned around from his phone conversation and noticed Alfred was still present.

"I said leave Alfred," Dick commanded with a little bit of a hiss to his voice.

The butler broke his glare from where X stood and turned to Dick and slightly bowed.

"Going sir." and with that second request to leave, the butler did just that, not even looking back to where X was still standing. With the butler gone, Dick went back to putting his attention back to the person on the other end of the phone.

Even though he was invisible, Red X was sure he was going to be discovered. That was just weird how the butler seemed to suspect he was there. X let out a sigh of relief and began to breath once again. He had been holding it throughout the entire ordeal.

After that little endeavor, X was shaken, but that wasn't going to stop him from making this a successful first theft. He turned back to his target and smiled.

'_Come to me my precious.'_

Dick paced back and forth, completely engrossed in the conversation he was having with the person on the phone.

"Yeah… uh huh… yeah. 7 on Saturday night sounds good. I'll pick you up in the limo… I know I don't have to, but I want… yes, yes. I love you too. See you then." Apparently he had been talking to his girlfriend Kori, and from the look on his face, or what one could see with those infernal sunglasses on, he looked as happy as one could be. He fell back onto the couch and closed his eyes, just relaxing.

"I must be the luckiest person on the face of this earth." this might not have been true, since some guy winning the million dollar jackpot lottery feels pretty damn lucky too. But as this moment, Dick felt that he was on top of the world. Nothing could bring him down. Bring on the world, nothing could knock him from this highest of high feeling he had.

He opened his eyes and his ear to ear smile immediately fell from his face. The tinted world he viewed from behind his sunglasses was gone. All was as it should be without the lenses blocking out the colors. Dick reached up and quickly groped at his face. It could be, could it? No, his sunglasses were… gone!

"What the hell is going on!"

Outside the Wayne Manor, Red X swore he heard someone yelling out at the top of his lungs. The teen in black began to laugh his head off as he twirled Dick's prized sunglasses between his gloved fingers.

"Haha. Not bad for a first theft. That was too much fun. Well, with the exception of that little butler incident, but that was still pretty exciting. Exhilarating actually. I could get used to this," X said as he confidently strolled across the rooftop.

"I should mount these on my wall like a trophy. My first theft, Dick's sunglasses, hehe. Priceless."

X leaned against the entryway to the roof and rested the sunglasses over his eyes. It was hard to keep them in place with his mask on, and with much difficulty, he finally managed.

"Huh, I don't see what's so special about these glasses. Why the hell does Dick always wear them? Oh well, they're mine now." X sighed as he looked up to the night sky through the tinted lenses, making the world around him even darker.

"So… now what? I'm done with my theft and the night is still young. I cant just call it a night now, there's gotta be something else I could do." X closed his eyes and began to ponder on something that could alleviate him from utter boredom. He could do another theft, but one was enough for the first night. He could just call it quits and go home. Hell no. What was he going to do?

An image of a girl flashed before X's closed eyes and he immediately jumped up, causing the glasses to fall from his face. He didn't seem to take notice. And this image of a girl wasn't just any girl, it was the new girl, Raven. why was he so drawn to her? X didn't know the answer to that, but he didn't need to think twice on what he was going to do next.

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

After a quick little detour to his own home to check the student directory for Raven's home address and to drop off his new sunglasses, Red X found himself outside of the girl's house. It was a quaint little two story house. A typical kind of house one would fine in the suburbs of Jump City.

A light was on in one of the windows on the second story and Red X scaled the tree that just happened to be next to the house. Convenient, no? But as he got closer, X wasn't prepared to hear yelling. The boy peered inside the window and just stared at the scene before him.

There stood Raven, arms at her sides and head hung low. In front of her doing all the yelling was a big burly man, probably her father X figured. The man was built, that was for sure, but he also seemed to be of a late age. He had long white hair that fell loosely around his shoulders and down his back. He wore a white T-shirt that had sweat stains in certain areas, giving him a less than pleasant look.

"God Raven, why cant you do anything right? Another detention, what is wrong with you? At this rate, you're going to get expelled in a week! For once in your pathetic, miserable, insignificant life, do something right!"

What came next shocked X to the core. Raven's father pulled back his arm and back-handed her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor.

"Its a good thing your mother died before she could see how worthless you are." With an angry gruff and a slam of the door, the man was gone.

Red X was horror struck. How could a father do that kind of thing to his own flesh and blood. Sure, his own father was a jerk, but he had never hit him. X watched Raven slowly pick herself up off the floor. She didn't even retaliate, yell back, or anything. She just took it. The boy's heart went out to the girl.

Raven held her redden face as she stared at the door. She turned to walk towards her nightstand with a clock-radio on it. As Raven turned on the radio to hear a slow rock anthem play through the speakers, X saw the girl wipe away a tear from her face. Raven collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, letting the pillow and the sounds emitting from the radio drown out the sounds of her sorrow.

Red X longed to reach out and comfort the girl, but he knew he couldn't, not like this. In his present attire, Raven would more likely call the cops rather than take his comfort. X couldn't take anymore of this sad and depressing sight. He turned away from the window and leaned back against the tree. All this time he thought his life was in the pits, when all along there was someone else so close that had it much worse than he did. How long had this been going on in this house? Were there signs? Did she have bruises already? He should have noticed any when he saw her in the locker room, but he was too preoccupied with staring at her body than places where she could have been hit. He was ashamed of himself for this fact.

The boy was angry. Angry at himself for thinking he was the only one with problems. Angry at Raven's father for hitting her. Angry at the whole world in general. Nothing seemed to be going right for anyone.

'_But maybe I could try and brighten up her life a little. Anything would be better than what just happened.' _He felt compassion for Raven. He didn't know why, but he liked this girl.

'_I think I'll get her something special. Something nice. Hell, what good is this suit if I cant get anything I want? Besides, I kinda owe you something after I walked in on you in the locker.' _X turned back to the window and sighed.

'_Don't worry Raven, I'm gonna get you something that will make everything better.'_

X was about to slowly descend but he noticed Raven turning. Those tearful eyes seemed to catch a glimpse towards his direction and he immediately gasped.

"Oh sh-" he quickly leapt to the ground and slammed his cloaking mechanism on. X groaned a bit as that sudden drop took a bit out of him. He huffed as he turned up to see those purple eyes peering out the window so saddened. His white slits gazed upon her as she looked frantically for that 'mystery' atop the tree.

'_I gotta be more-'_

His eyes were now fixated on those deep amethyst orbs on the face of the girl who he was going to make life good for. And as she frowned, walking away almost disappointingly X nodded with confidence.

'_Oh we'll be seeing each other more... you can bet on that.'

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Well, there ya go… The next installment of A Story of X… Hope ya liked… Let me know if ya did by tapping that review button in the lower left corner and writing something up… The button likes to be tapped, so make it and me happy… So, tell me what you think, ya like it, you hate it, you got a stomach ulcer from reading it? Nice to hear from the readers… Till next time… Laterz…


	6. The Rewards of Stealing

Alright boys and girls, the newest chapter of this story is up, BAM! So, since ff dot net is banning us writers from responding to our readers in our chapters, I guess you guys can just go straight to the story… I know its sad, but what ya gonna do? Rules are rules, and here, rules are not meant to be broken…But I would like to thank a lot of the reviewers for their ideas for this story, they helped me out a lot... So, to those of you who see your ideas in this chapter, I say thank you...

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Disclaimer: The Teen Titans are a registered trademark of DC Comics, so sadly I do not own them… TT equals owned, me equals pwned…

The city was basked in a lucent glow as lightning flashed across the night sky. But just as soon as it appeared, it was gone, such as the nature of lightning. No, there was no moon glowing down upon Jump City this night. No peace and tranquility to ring silently in the air. No, tonight Mother Nature decided to cover this coastal city with a blanket of clouds, the fury of lightning and thunder, and tears of rain. And when it rains in Jump City, it rains hard. Yes, the only ones that would be sleeping tonight were the heavy sleepers.

Once again, lightning cut across the sky, giving light to the stone gargoyles of Wayne Manor. Thunder soon followed its brother, seemingly to give these eerie creatures of the night voice.

To a thief, this kind of night could be the perfect time to strike, but to Red X, this rain was an unwanted occurrence. Sure, he could have waited for the next night when it wasn't raining, but he wanted to get this job done as soon as possible. He wanted to put a smile on Raven's face and nothing was going to get in his way. That girl had gone through so much, X couldn't wait to make her happy. So much for being the self-centered thief. But this was someone he didn't mind stealing for, other than himself that is.

'_Ok, first rule when getting a gift for that special girl. Never steal the gift, especially an expensive one. Those things can be tracked easily and could knock you down a couple notches in the girl's view. Instead, steal money from some rich little SOB, and then use the money to get the gift. Cant trace stolen cash too well.'_

The black clad thief stood on the balcony of the Wayne Manor. Drenched in the rain, he walked briskly towards the door that would lead him inside, towards his goal. Plus, getting out of the rain would be an added bonus.

Red X grabbed the handle and pulled it a little, to see if it would give any. To no surprise, it didn't budge. X just shrugged it off.

'_Meh, no biggy.'_

In a blink of an eye, the teen had vanished and reappeared on the other side of the glass door. Either out of instinct or just to be a pain in the ass to one of the owners of this lavish estate, X shook his body wildly like a dog that had just gotten out of a pool of water trying to free himself from the wetness that clung to his suit. His head, his arms, his legs, all were drenched and all soon would be free from the rain. X smirked at the little mess he had just created.

'_Screw subtlety, I'm in, I'm out, quick job. No one will be the wiser.'_

With the stealth of a cat, or a thief for that matter, Red X crept along the silent halls of this extravagant building. His target was some kind of safe, but with no idea of where his target lay, X got to take in a little more of the sights that this house had to offer.

Masks of all shapes and sizes stood on podiums everywhere. These ghoulish things looked like they came from every corner of the earth, and was freaking the hell out of our thief. Not as much as when he first found his own mask back in the warehouse, but pretty damn close.

Weapons which seemed to have come straight from the feudal era of Japan adorned the walls. Swords, flails, axes, spears, nagitas, katanas, nunchaku, and other weapons that X couldn't identify were everywhere. Hell, there was even a full authentic Samurai's armor encased in glass next to a rack of blades.

But one of the oddest things was that there were multiple paintings and sculptures of bats. From the simplest fruit bat to the terrifying vampire bat, and everywhere in between and beyond, bats seemed to dominate this home.

X just gave a skewed look at the strange and odd possessions as he roamed silently through the estate.

'_Uh… obsessed much? Damn, these guys are freaking rich. Hell, rich is an understatement, though I'm not exactly sure of any other way to describe it.'_

The thief turned the corner and was greeted with the sight of a massive library. Books upon books upon thousands of more books were everywhere. Shelves filled with literature towered toward the heightened ceiling.

'_Oh, I know. Filthy stinking rich! Oh yeah, I'm a regular Robin Hood now. Stealing from the filthy stinking rich and giving to the less fortunate. Only difference is I don't have to wear those stupid green tights. I mean seriously, who in their right mind would wear green tights? Instead, I get these nifty black tights. Hey, wait a second. How come I don't get some guy to follow me around like Little John followed Robin Hood? That is so totally unfair.'_

While X was grumbling to himself over the comparison of his life to that of a fictional character, but a cool one none-the-less, he stumbled into a vase. The priceless artifact wobbled off balance and then tumbled off of its pedestal.

'_Oh sh-'_ With a quickness that even surprised himself, the teen reached out for the falling object. Barely catching the vase with only his fingertips, X stopped the artifact's decent, saving it from an untimely demise. With a readjustment of his grip, Red X placed the vase back on its rightful perch, letting out a puff of air in relief.

'_Whew, that was too damn close. Once again, thank you speed enhancement. I should really learn to pay more attention rather then letting my eyes and mind wander though. After all, there is no point in waking my victims up before my job is done.'_

A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder resounded throughout the structure, leaving X in complete and utter shocked silence.

'_Though uhh… if that doesn't wake anyone in this place, nothing will.'_

After breathing again, and with a little hesitancy, X began to move. No stupid thunder or lightning was gonna keep him from his prize. Though in hindsight, he was a little worried that the thunder had awakened someone in this large house. After all, the echo effect could really do a number in this place. But then again, if that was indeed the case, X would just simply switch on his cloaking device and go about his business. But he would worry about that if or when that time came.

X turned another corner to see, yet again, another hallway with multiple doors branching off of it.

'_Good God! How big is this place? I swear, I need a freaking directory with a little "You Are Here" sign to help me navigate this place. At least last time I had a freaking clue with the voices and crap. But this time… ugh.'_

As the teen in black traversed the empty hall, he noticed a room that gave him a bit of hope. It was a study room. It looked like your typical home office room. A desk with a computer and lamp on top of it with some papers piling up. A fire place that was at this time not active sat off to the corner where a picture of an elderly couple was hanging above the mantle. An old grandfather clock rested against the far wall, and to no real surprise to X, there was a painting of a bat close by.

'_Oh yeah, this guy is definitely batty.'_

Red X strolled to the center of the room and surveyed his surroundings, scratching his chin in deep thought.

'_Now… if I were a safe filled with cash, where oh where would I be?'_

To answer his question, X's wandering eyes fell upon the portrait of the elderly couple. He smirked at the sight. The thief reached up to the side of his mask and activated the X-Ray vision. To his dismay though, there was no secret space where a safe would be hiding. His smirk fell from his face and melted into a disappointed frown. He sighed out of despair.

'_Well, this bites. And here I thought I found my prize. Where the hell does this nut case keep his safe?'_

His saddened eyes fell from the portrait and glanced once again around the room. He was about to leave when he spotted the bat painting. And remembering how much bats dominated the décor of this place, X figured that was a big freaking clue.

'_Oh, you have got to be kidding me.'_

Red X glared at the painting as he reactivated his X-Ray vision. And low and behold, behind it was the safe he had been searching so hard for.

'_No doubt about it, this guy is freaking batty.'_

Our favorite thief pulled the painting to the side to reveal the safe. It had a duel opening system, a turn dial and a keyhole. Either way would open it.

'_Pfft. Screw the dial. I've wasted enough time wandering around this place looking for this safe. I'll just pick the lock, grab the goods, and scadaddle.'_

With a flick of the wrist, a crimson shuriken appeared in X's hand and he went to work on the lock. A wiggle, a jiggle, a pull, a push, to the left, to the right. Over and over Red X rotated the shuriken, trying to pick the lock, until…

'_Bingo!'_

A crack of thunder sounded through the halls as the old grandfather clock stroke midnight, sounding off the hour with twelve consecutive gongs.

X jumped, completely startled by the sounds. He clutched at his heart out of fright.

'_Its okay Kale, nothing big. Just some thunder and some dumb old clock. Nothing to get your tights in a bunch over. Just, breathe.'_ X let the air pass through his lungs, letting the calming sensation take over his jumpy state of mind.

With that little ordeal over with, X went back to work. He smiled with glee as he opened the door of the safe. His smile grew in size at the sight of his prize. Stacks of money lay before X, all for the taking. Obviously this wasn't all of the Wayne fortune. After all, who would be stupid enough to keep all of their money in one safe? But it was enough for X to be happy.

'_Perfect. There's enough for Raven's gifts, and even some left over for me, for all my hard work. Well alright, jackpot baby.'_

After Red X had grabbed all the money he wanted, he returned the safe door and the painting to their rightful positions. X then turned on his heel to leave, but suddenly froze.

'_Wait, how the hell do I get out again? So many twists and turns. This place is too freaking big!'_

He sighed.

'_Ah screw it, I'll just teleport out of here. God, I swear I'm gonna have nightmares about bats for weeks.'_

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx _

RIIINNG!

The second bell had rang, students were either back in their classes, or in the cafeteria. If they were roaming the halls by now, a teacher could catch them and trouble would surely ensue. And no one really wants to get in trouble at school, now do they?

Today's lunch was a little less unbearable than usual. Though when it comes to school cafeteria food, is it ever good? Kale had just exited the line with food tray in hand. Normally, this would be the time when he would get his condiments and head to his usual table and sit all alone until the lunch period was over.

But today would be different. Not only was he sick and tired of eating alone, he had a certain someone in mind that he wanted to talk to and sit with. The girl, Raven. He had made a promise to try and make her life a little better. He had taken the first step by getting the money to help in his quest. Now he had to find her and actually get her to talk to him. She may still be a little sore with him after that whole locker room fiasco.

Kale scanned the massive lunch room, searching for Raven, but he couldn't seem to find her. Was she not here today? Kale hoped that wasn't the case. He wanted to try and help her as soon as he could. Kale searched around again, hoping he had just missed her. With hope and a prayer, he turned his gaze to the far corner and there his eyes fell on Raven. She was here today, and so Kale's plan was kicked into action.

Okay, how nervous would one think Kale is at this moment? He was about to walk up to a girl, a cute girl even in his eyes, and try and talk to her. Now, the males of the world know that trying to talk to a cute girl can be rather difficult at times. Unless of course you have all the right moves and can talk to any girl you want. In that case, good for you. Now, add in a bit of shyness on Kale's side and maybe just a hint of anger on Raven's and you got yourself a problem. But never the less, Kale swallowed his fears and approached the girl.

Raven sat in her usual cross-legged fashion, and to no surprise was reading a book. But from the looks of things, she was nearing the last page and was about to finish. How could someone who seemed so intelligent get in so much trouble? And without even seeming to care. Kale couldn't even begin to fathom this.

Just as Kale had seen, Raven had finished reading, for she laid the book beside her. She reached over to her back pack and began to rummage through it. She sighed in defeat it seemed as she stopped rummaging and glanced back at the book she had just finished. With another sigh, Raven picked up the novel and began reading it again from the very beginning. She was out of books, and with nothing to alleviate her from boredom, Raven just began rereading the very book she just finished. What perfect timing for Kale.

'_Heh, okay Kale, this is no big deal. You're just gonna talk to a girl. Okay, so you never really have talked to a girl before, well except for mother and probably a ways back when I young. But hell, what better time to start? Oh boy, I'm in way over my head here. But this is no time to back out. There she is, here goes nothing.'_

With a big breath, Kale let his worries go and went for it.

"H-hey uh… is this seat taken?" Kale asked Raven as he pointed to an empty chair across from her.

Raven glanced up from her book to see who it was that had decided it wise to interrupt her reading. It was the boy who had seen her almost naked in the locker room a couple of days ago. She glared up at the boy as he stood there with a very nervous look on his face. This was the second time he had tried to say something to her after the locker room. It was admirable, Raven had to admit, but it was a little annoying. She could hear whispers from some onlookers, and decided to try and end this little meeting as soon as possible.

"Yes, this seat is taken," was Raven's only reply.

Oh, there's a confidence booster for you. Shot down, right off the bat. Yeah, Kale was a little distraught, but that wasn't going to stop him. But where was this inner strength to keep going coming from? By now, Kale would have high-tailed it out of there. What was driving him he wondered.

"Are you sure? I could swear that this seat isn't saved for anyone. You usually don't let anyone sit with you, am I right?"

"Well, you got that right, so why are you still here?"

"Cause all I want to do is talk."

Raven didn't want to believe it, but she knew that was all he wanted to do. He wasn't trying to play any kind of sick joke or anything, she could see in his eyes that he was being sincere. With a gesture of the hand, Raven motioned for Kale to sit. The whispers around them increased, but who cares what they think. Screw 'em.

A smile came across the teen's lips as he sat his tray and back pack down. Kale quickly set himself down and began to stare at Raven. She noticed his staring eyes and cocked a brow.

"Well…?"

"Look, I tried to say this before, but you kinda ignored me. So I'm gonna try again. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for what? Sorry for accidentally seeing you in the locker room. That was totally an accident, I swear. Some big guy, Victor, just shoved me. And seeing how small I am, I gave no resistance, whether I wanted to or not. And I'm sorry for staring at you while in there. I tried to stop, but me being a stupid guy and all, things can be rather difficult and-"

Kale was cut off abruptly when Raven reached over the table and placed a palm over his mouth.

"Okay, I get it. You're sorry. Apology accepted. But you don't have to start blurting everything out in the open so everyone can hear though."

"Yeah, I guess I did go a little over board there huh?" Kale rubbed the back of his head while smiling as Raven just groaned. "So look, we never really got off to the right start, so lets start over. Hi, my name is Kale Riley, nice to meet you," he said while extending his hand towards Raven.

She stared blankly at the outstretched hand, then at the boy himself. He was truly different from some of the jerks she had had to deal with in past schools. He wasn't faking kindness just to hurt her later on. He was earnest in his kindness, and Raven could tell. Kale was the first boy that was actually sincere to her. Raven smiled slightly at this thought as she took his hand and shook it.

"Raven. Raven Roth."

"Raven eh? That's a pretty cool name."

"Oh don't be sly. You heard my name during detention role call."

"Hehe, oh yeah. Guess you got me there." Kale smiled sheepishly as he laughed a little at his own seemingly stupidity.

Raven covered her mouth with her hand as she stifled a giggle. As hard as she tried, it was just impossible to keep up her cold front around this kid. He just seemed so upbeat. And truthfully, Raven was enjoying his company. Since her first day at this school, no one had tried to approach her and actually tried to start up a conversation. Raven didn't like to admit it, but she didn't like being alone. She had enough of that at home, keeping herself up in her room away from her father. A friend would be nice to have, and Kale seemed like he could be that friend. Raven had seen some of the things he had gone through, with Dick and his crew picking on him. He too seemed to be alone in this world. Maybe all they both needed was a friend.

Raven smiled at these thoughts as she instinctively looked back at her book. But as soon as she did, she frowned slightly realizing it was the book she had just read. Sure, rereading books can be fun, but after a while, it gets a little old.

Kale noticed the sudden sad look in Raven's amethyst eyes.

"So, I guess you're outta books for the day huh?"

Raven only nodded subconsciously in response.

"Well, have I got the remedy to that," Kale said as he reached for his back pack.

Raven gave the boy a questioning glare as he dug through his belongings searching for something in particular.

"Now, I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. Plus, I felt like I kinda owed ya after seeing you in the locker room. So I went out and got you a little something."

"What are you ta-"

"Aha! Here it is." Kale retracted his hand from his pack to reveal that in his grasp was a book. And from the looks of it, it was a really extensive looking book. It may even have been one of the largest pieces of literature Raven had seen.

Raven just stared at the novel, then up to the boy holding it.

"W-why did you…?" The girl couldn't even finish her sentence she was so overwhelmed.

"Ah it was no big deal, think nothing of it. I found some extra cash just laying around. And like I said, I felt like I owed you." Kale held the book out for Raven. Her expression was priceless and it brought a smile to his lips. "Go on, take it. Its yours. A gift from me to you. To new friends, to new beginnings."

Raven reached out and gingerly took the book into her hands.

"Yeah, the book is called Of Azar. I read the back and its totally cool. Its about this female sorceress who is trying to fight her destiny. You see, she was the daughter of a human mother and a devil. She was sired for the sole purpose of destroying humanity and the whole world itself. And on top of that, to bring her father to the physical realm of the living so that he could rule all that exists. But she has a good heart and tries to fight and deny her destiny and the evil inside her. But will she succeed? Heck if I know, I haven't read it. But it even got me interested in reading it, and I don't read books that often. Unless of course its for school. And even then it barely happens so that's saying something about this. So have you heard of this book?"

"Y-yes I have. Critics give it two thumbs up, and excellent read."

"Well sweet, looks like I picked a winner eh?" Kale said with a triumphant look on his face.

Raven looked up to Kale with a somber expression.

"Thank you. I feel bad though, I don't have anything to give you."

"Oh no need, you've already given me enough," Kale replied with a happy smirk at past memories.

Raven gave him a playful glare.

"Hehe, sorry. Male hormones talking there," Kale said while waving his hands in innocence.

Raven giggled slightly at this boy and his silly reactions. She brought her eyes to the book and gently let her finger tips caress the letters of the title. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for her. Raven could feel a tear coming to her eyes, but she pushed them back. She hadn't felt like this after the passing of her mother.

A lock of Raven's purple hair fell out of place and covered her amethyst eye. The girl pulled the loose strand aside as she raised her head and let her gaze rest upon Kale. This kid was truly something else and Raven smiled at the fact that she had just made a good friend.

Kale couldn't help but smile back at Raven. And even if he didn't want to, but of course he did want to, it would be impossible to hold it back.

Now, what on earth could ruin such a happy moment? Better yet, why should anything ruin this moment? Well, to put it simply, no matter where these two went, trouble always seemed to find them. Its just inescapable. And at this very moment, trouble was about to make itself known. Or to put it better, himself.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here then? The social outcast, and the moody little bitch… together. How touching."

Now, its true that no one had come up to Raven when she first arrived at this school and tried to be a friend and hold a decent conversation. But, that doesn't mean someone hadn't come up to her and tried to flirt with her right off the bat. And obviously, knowing Raven's status and reputation by now in this school, that first meeting wasn't too pleasant.

Malchior Blair was what one might call a player. But most just called him Mal, cause lets face it, Malchior is a pretty dumb name anyway. With pale blonde hair which was almost white, piercing crystal blue eyes, and a little mascara around said beautiful eyes, this kid could get any girl he wanted. And to say the least, he usually did. Though once he had gotten what he wanted from them, Mal would drop the girl like a bad habit. And any girl who thought it was to refuse him, this blue eyed beast would do his best to make that girl's life a living Hell.

"So, it seems the dark girl has actually go a boyfriend," Malchior snickered. "Nice choice, the 'brightest' of the bunch huh? More to your personal tastes? So typical of you. Word is your father is a numbskull and you choose a numbskull as a boy toy. Being a clueless ditz must run in the family." Mal suggestively sneered with a pompous jerk like stare. "Speaking of which, how is that bitch of a mother doing these days?"

Kale's eyes widened in horror at the vile words spilling out of this kid's mouth. What the hell was his problem? Did he realize exactly what he was saying? Did he know Raven's mother was dead? Although, the only reason Kale knew this was because he had overheard Raven's father yelling at her when he was in his X suit. But this was just plain harsh, whether Mal knew this fact or not.

Kale looked over towards Raven and his heart instantly broke at the sight. Raven had her head hung low, her hair drooping over her face, but not before Kale saw a little moisture forming in her eyes. She clutched the book he had given her close to her chest, with both arms wrapped tightly around it.

"Heh, nothing to say? Pfft, figures, know your kind."

Raven just sat there, taking it all, just like Kale had seen her do when her father badgered her. This wasn't right, and Kale wasn't going to stand for this any longer.

"Hey Goldilocks, ya might not want to strain yourself with all those insults," Kale said as he stood in a defensive manner. "All that sweat could cause your mascara to run, and we wouldn't want that to happen now would we?"

Mal was a little stunned to say the least. No one had ever talked back to him. And of all the people it could have come from, it came from the most unlikely of all sources. The spineless loser of the school.

"Oooooh, since when did the pathetic loser get a backbone?"

"Oh I found it this morning as a prize in my box of cereal."

"Ah, a funny guy too huh?"

"Not as funny as the idea of your teeth getting knocked in if you don't leave Raven alone."

Okay, stunned is no longer the word to describe the sated Malchior was in. shocked beyond all belief was be better. This was definitely different. Being stood up to was one thing, but being threatened? Well that was completely new. From the looks of things, Kale was ready to deliver on this threat too. And as much as Mal hated looking like a fool, he was dangerously allergic to pain. Though, aren't most of us?

Malchior was fuming and glared at Kale, but the boy didn't even flinch. With just a slight hiss, Mal turned on is heel and briskly walked away.

"Heh, I guess his bark is worse than his bite, cause he doesn't even have a bite." Kale turned around and looked back to Raven. "That jerk said some pretty nasty things. You okay?"

"Why?"

Kale skewed.

"Why? Why what?"

"Why did you do that? Why did you stand up for me?"

"Well, I couldn't just sit back and let him say those kinda things to you. Besides, it was about time someone put that jackass in his place. I just never thought the person to do it would be me. But putting that aside, you gonna be okay?"

Raven's face was strained from holding back emotion and her beautiful purple orbs that were her eyes were a little red with just a hint of wetness at one of the corners.

"I'm fine. After all, they were just words anyway. No big deal, really." Raven choked out the words.

Kale wasn't buying this façade, not for a second.

"Look I-"

RIIINNG!

Kale's intended comforting words were cut short by the bell. lunch was over, and it was time for the students to clear out of the cafeteria and go to their classes. Kale looked back to Raven and held her by the shoulders.

"Look, if you ever need anything, I'll be there for you. After all, what are friends for? Now, I gotta ask again, just to make sure. You sure you are gonna be okay? A good friend always asks more than once to be absolutely positive."

"Yes, I'm fine. You don't have to keep asking," Raven replied with a little bit of her cynical tone. Kale smiled at this.

"Alright, just checking. Now, I would love to stay and talk with you for the whole day, really I would, but school demands that we get back to class. See you soon though, I promise." Though Kale didn't want to leave, he knew he had to. With a wave, a wink, and a smile, Kale grabbed his backpack and headed back to class.

Raven stood there for a moment longer, still clutching Kale's gift to her close to her chest.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Kale drummed his fingers atop the plastered wood surface of his desk. As the tips of his fingers continued to tap softly against his desk, the sound it brought was drowned out by the surrounding noise of his classmates. Normally by now, history class would have started up and all the students would be silent in their seats barely staying conscious as they listened to the continuous ramblings of their teacher.

But today was different.

Apparently their history teacher, Mr. Warp, had taken a leave of absence only the day before and a new replacement teacher was brought in. Rumors had already stared up saying that he had quit, or that he was fired. Still other more absurd rumors circulated around like Mr. Warp had been abducted by aliens planning on taking over the world by replacing meat with some kind of strange alien substance. Another wacky rumor said that he had created some kind of time machine and traveled back in time to steal priceless artifacts of the past to make himself rich. What a wild imagination these kids have. And all of these rumors just stared this morning, and already it had spread throughout the entire school.

Kale really didn't care about the gossip that invested this school. It was all mindless jabber anyway. But, it was still amazing that he had actually been aware of them. He never got told anything. But it still didn't matter, they were only rumors after all.

So now that Mr. Warp was gone for who knows how long, a new temporary teacher would be brought in to take his place. And strangely enough, due to the gossip level of this school, nothing had been said about the new teacher. Or if it had, Kale probably was left out of the loop of information and kept in the dark… again.

The teen sighed in aggravation as his fingers began to rise and descend upon the desk a little heavier than before. This was just getting absurd. It had been at least seven minutes since class had begun, and there was still no sign of the teacher. And when there is nothing to do, the minutes can drag on forever. Okay sure, history wasn't exactly the most exhilarating of all classes. Hell, it was one of the most boring classes of all. But anything was better than just sitting here doing nothing. And besides, the sooner the teacher got there and started class, the sooner it would be over.

"Hey Joto, when do you think the new guy is gonna show?"

"I don't know Timmy, I'm not a freaking psychic… though that would be cool."

"Ugh, how many times gave I told you? The name isn't Timmy. Its Tim, Tim Drake. God, how hard is it for you to remember that?"

"Not as hard as we're gonna make it for the teacher's life when the guy shows up. You know what I'm saying?"

"I heard that! Sweet, high five!"

"You know it!"

'_Ugh, shut up. Just shut up already. God, we're in high school for crying out loud. shouldn't hazing the teacher be past us by now? Only idiotic juveniles do that anymore. Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking about, Tim and Joto, the class clowns. I swear, I'm surrounded by idiots.'_

Kale went cross-eyed for a second as he crossed his arms on his desk and buried his face into them.

'_Okay then, any time now teacher. Sometime before I die of boredom would be gre-'_

Kale's thoughts were rudely interrupted as a pencil soared through the air and connected with the back of the teen's head. Kale sighed once more as he didn't even need to look up from his relaxed position to know exactly who had flung the pencil at him. As his lack of luch would have it, Dick Grayson was sitting only a couple seats behind him.

'_Cripes, who made my class schedule this year anyway? Satan? I swear, I'm stuck with one of theses losers every class. And speaking of tortures, do I have a big sign on my back that says "Biggest loser of the school, please feel free to harass me"?'_

The thought to actually check to see is such a sign existed crossed his mind, but he thought better of it and decided against it. Instead, he lazily lifted his head from the confines of his arms and glared back at the sunglasses wearing Dick.

'_Hmph, he must have gotten a new pair after I swiped the last ones. God, what is up with him always wearing those infernal things? And how many of those does he have? Wait, I don't even want to know the answer to that last one.'_

Dick casually turned to the side and began to scratch his cheek methodically with only his middle finger.

Kale groaned at the pathetic way of delivering the finger. He could at least have the decency to just flat out gave it to him. But no, Dick had to do it in some snobbish way, maybe thinking Kale wouldn't catch on.

'_What, does he think I'm stupid and cant see it? Gah never mind.'_

To retaliate for Dick's childish act, Kale responded with one of his own. Sure, he could take the high road and simply ignore Dick. But Kale was finding out it was much more fun to get back at his enemies. Kale took his tormentor's pencil in hand, aimed skyward, and flicked the tool upward, impaling it into the ceiling tiles.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Kale let a flicker of a grin pass before his mouth curled into a full grown smile and turned back to Dick. This time it was the other boy to glare. Kale was actually enjoying every second of this and in response, he pulled down on his lower eyelid and stuck out his tongue.

Now, Dick was shocked to say the least. Being one of the most popular kids in school, no one had ever had the audacity to do such a thing to him. The nerve of that guy, how dare he. Dick's glare only intensified with these thoughts. The loser would pay, sooner rather than later.

All actions stopped though, for the door to the room slowly creaked open.

'_Sheesh, its about time.'_

The door opened fully and the class got their first look at their new teacher. He wore slightly baggy blue denim jeans with an untucked white button down shirt. His hair was that of the color pale blonde and was short and a bit ruffled. A shaggy hint of a beard covered his chin with a little stubble here and there. But what most of the students were staring at was the eye patch that covered his right eye. He had a sense of uncertainty around him as he walked briskly from the doorway and towards his desk.

"Heh, sorry I'm late class. I kind of got lost on my way back from my lunch period." He smiled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. The class was completely silent and the teacher chuckled nervously trying to break the dreadful silence.

"Uhh… okay then. To begin, my name is Mr. Wilson."

"Mr. Wilson? Hey, what's your full name? Wilson Wilson?" Tim Drake blurted out.

"I don't think so Tim," Joto answered after a slight pause for dramatic tension. There was silence before the two jokesters smiled fiendishly and burst into fits of laughter at their little joke. Other kids began to laugh as well getting the comical jest their classmates had just pulled. Mr. Wilson gave a skewed look before he too began to laugh at the joke made at his own expense.

"Hahaha, good one "Mr. Borlan." Ah, I see you have shaved and you're not wearing flannel. And "Mr. Taylor", where is your oh so famous tool belt?"

Tim and Joto stared at the teacher and then at each other with slacked jaws in total disbelief. The realization that Mr. Wilson was playing along with their joke donned on them as the edges of their lips began to curl upward.

"Hey "Al", it looks like ya lost a little weight."

"Yeah it does "Tim." But I gotta ask, why aren't you grunting?"

The entire class erupted into laughter as the simple joke just seemed to be snowballing. The fits of laughter soon died down though as the hype was finally coming to an end.

"So Mr. Wilson, what is your first name?" a pink haired girl decked out in punk clothing asked. The teacher's good willed expression faded away at the question and it grew to something less jocular than it was moments ago.

"Well, I'd tell you, but then I would have to kill everyone in this class," Mr. Wilson replied with an ice cold tone and a stern look. The entire class grew silent, not knowing what to think. The teacher's stern expression however softened into a cute little smile and he chuckled slightly.

"Heh, just kidding." His response was accompanied by the peace sign. The silence of the classroom was deafening as everyone just gaped at their new teacher. This was not normal teaching behavior. But then again, Mr. Wilson didn't seem to act like a normal teacher.

"This guy is a riot! Way better than boring old Mr. Warp. I say out with the old, in with the new. Welcome to the class Mr. W!" Tim shouted out.

A few of the students began to cheer, one would think school itself was being canceled. It was official... this was going to be one awesome kickback class. Everyone was so busy and caught up in the moment that no one notice the evil sneer that flickered across Mr. Wilson's lips. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Couldn't blow it so soon.

"Alright now class, settle down. We've had our fun. Now, I think its time we get things started with some introductions. I've told you my name, now its your turn." Mr. Wilson scanned the room, over and over again, as if he was looking for someone in particular. His eyes came to rest on Kale as a smile came to his lips.

"You young man, do you mind introducing yourself?"

Kale skewed at the question. It was odd that the teacher had chosen him first to give his name. He wasn't the first person in any of the rows, he wasn't even in the front row. I fact, he was more towards the center of the classroom. How very odd. He didn't even ask for role call and try and get the names that way. Kale continued to think on this strange fact, but decided that answering him was better than complete silence.

"Kale. Kale Riley."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Raven pushed her back to the door as she closed it firmly behind her. Her father had once again yelled at her after coming home from school. This time, it wasn't even for any particular reason. He was just yelling for the sake of yelling. Raven wondered if her father actually enjoyed yelling at his only daughter.

Life had always been rough for the purple haired girl. But at least back in the day, Raven had her mother to look after her and help by comforting her when her father was acting like he always did. But now, her mother was gone. The safeness that Raven felt had disappeared and had faded away.

A bit of moisture formed at her eye as a tear began to fall. Thinking about her loving mother always did this to Raven. The girl hurriedly wiped the tear from her face. She hated acting like this, so weak and helpless. She wasn't like this, or at least she didn't want to be. The pain was there, and it would always be there.

Nothing would take away the pain that loomed over her, but Raven had found someone that could help ease the pain. A friend in which to confide in. Even though they had only really just met today, Kale was already becoming what she needed. A true best friend.

He had actually stood up for her against that Malchior brat. No one had ever don that for her. Even though she didn't like the fact that she didn't stand up for herself and came off looking like the damsel in distress, she was glad Kale was the one that helped her out. No one had ever been that kind, not since…

Raven shook her head, trying to forget. She didn't want to dwell upon such sad thoughts. She didn't want to seem weak. She sank to the floor slowly and wrapped her arms around her legs with her chin resting on her knees. Raven closed her eyes and just sat there, trying to forget it all, to let it all go. All she wanted was for the pain to just go away.

Her thoughts were broken as a light tapping on her window brought Raven back to her sad reality. The noise resounded again and Raven couldn't help but wonder what it was. She got up from her position on the floor and crossed her room to the window. Out into the world she looked, but there was nothing there that could have been making the sound. With a sigh, Raven lowered her gaze but quickly gasped at the sight her eyes beheld.

There, sitting on the window sill was necklace with a piece of paper underneath it. Raven opened the window carefully, as to not knock the precious thing off the sill, and grasped the necklace and paper in her hand. She let the jewelry hang before her eyes to examine it closely. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship to say the least. It was golden raven with wings encircling a large encrusted red jewel. Raven stared, completely in awe of the gorgeous necklace.

Raven skewed though as to who had gotten this for her. It was obviously quite expensive. No one she knew could have even come close to affording this. Well, there was that Dick fellow, but he was a jerk and he already had a girlfriend. The piece of paper that was under the jewelry may provide an answer to her question. After all, it was there with the necklace.

With great reluctance, Raven let the gold and red piece of jewelry fall from her eyes so that she could examine the paper that came with it. It was a note she noticed, actually a poem, written in crimson ink.

"Something pretty for pure beauty, know that someone cares for you surely. -X-"

Raven stared blankly at the note then at the gift she had received. This X person had called her a beauty, something no one had ever actually said to her. Raven never really thought of herself as beautiful, there were so many other better looking girls out there. She was just plain. But this X didn't seem to think the same as she did. She blushed slightly at the thought of this. She had a secret admirer, but who could it be? Could it possibly be Kale?

Raven shook her head at the thought of that. Why was his name the first to come to mind? Sure, they were friends, but she didn't think Kale liked her in that sort of way. But if not him, then who?

Raven gasped as she brought her hand to her mouth, remembering something from a few days back. The so called attack on the popular kids by that masked person. He had called himself Red X. He had even gone as far as to blow her a kiss, which was something Raven never saw coming. Could that person be the X that left her this gift? The girl held the gold and red necklace before her and gazed upon its beauty.

Raven blinked. For a girl's whose life had been full of contempt and coldness, Raven felt like things were finally starting to look up. A new friend... a masked admirer...

"I guess there really is a first time for everything..."

* * *

BAM! End of the newest chapter… Tell me what you guys think, cause remember, reviews are always welcomed… I'm running out of things to say, so I'll just shut up now… Till next time my faithful readers… Laterz… 


	7. Identity

Alrighty people… Ya ya, I know… This chapter took forever for me to get out… I got nothing much left to say… Except I am very very very sorry for the huge delay this one took… Please forgive my lame-ass ways… Just, read and enjoy…

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans… So sad for me… They are owned, I have been pwned…

Tonight was what one might call perfect. The full moon cast down its light and basked the coastal city in tranquility. There wasn't a cloud in the night sky, and the stars added their light to the moon's hardly ever having the opportunity to do so.

Yes, tonight could be described as perfect, the scenery absolutely beautiful. But Raven wasn't staring out her window gazing at nature's painting of peace. Instead, the purple haired girl sat atop her bed, her sight fixated on the necklace her secret admirer had given her. The jewelry dangled from her fingers, the golden raven and its crimson gem slowly turning, allowing Raven's eyes to see the gift from every angle.

This X person had exquisite tastes Raven had to admit. And that also went for his latest gift, which Raven was wearing at the moment. It was a gorgeous crimson red ballroom gown that had made Raven gasp when she first laid eyes on it. The masked mystery seemed to have a thing for red Raven noticed. She had stared at herself in the mirror for at least thirty minutes, admiring herself. It was a backless gown with a slip on the right side that ran from her feet up to her thigh. Something a guy would absolutely love to see a girl wear. Raven smirked, but she had to admit, she actually looked good in the dress. Though it was a little disturbing that it fit so snuggly around her every curve. But it didn't matter. She loved this gift as much as the first, and with the necklace added, the look was complete.

And so, there Raven sat in that sexy gown staring at the necklace that had bewitched her. But she wondered, when would X come to her again so that she could thank him for these gifts? But most importantly, thank him for making her feel happy, a feeling she hadn't known in a long while. Once again, Raven's eyes were captured by the glistening gold, and the girl couldn't help but stare at it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a distorted voice asked from behind the girl. "But then again…"

Raven closed her eyes as she felt the gentle touch of his hands caress against her shoulders. They began to slowly snake along her arms, the feel of his hands on her exposed skin made her shiver. His hands met hers, delicately playing with her fingers until the necklace she held was in his grasp. He pulled the necklace towards her, letting his hands brush against her skin as he brought the jewelry to its rightful place around her neck.

"Its nothing compared to you."

Raven's breathing was heavy, her heart was pounding. His touch brought so many new feelings to her, Raven was overwhelmed. A cool breeze past by which brought a tingle to the girl's exposed skin. Raven opened her eyes to find she was no longer in her room, but atop one of the many skyscrapers that reached to the heavens in Jump City. He change in scenery was certainly unexpected. How exactly had she gotten here? She was in her room just a few seconds ago.

"Where… how did I get here?" Raven asked more to herself than to anyone that was around.

"Simple. I brought you here."

That distorted voice, the one Raven had heard moments ago. And even then, it wounded so familiar. Raven tore her eyes from the city skyline to face the one who brought her here. And immediately all actions were ceased

There standing before Raven was Red X. The same Red X the news was always talking about. The same Red X that harassed the popular jerks at school. The same Red X that blew her a kiss. But was it the X that had given her the gifts and the lost feeling of happiness? A slight breeze passed by, picking up X's tattered cape. Raven pushed some hair out of her eyes due to the wind to keep her gaze on Red X.

His gaze turned from her skyward. His pupiless eyes seeming to close, savoring the moment.

"Do you hear it?" his distorted voice rang out, causing Raven to stir.

"Hear what?"

"The music."

Raven skewed at this. The music? What music? She didn't hear anything, at least… not at first. Soon though, Raven heard the sound of instruments playing in a melodious tune. It came from the somewhere down below, from the streets of the city. A street band playing by a curb for money, or from a ballroom band playing at some elegant party, it didn't matter. Raven stared out into the city, letting the music fill her senses.

"Care to dance?"

Raven turned back around to face Red X. He stood there in front of her, arm and hand outstretched, asking for hers.

"Wha… what did you say?"

"I asked if you would care to dance with me. It's such a lovely night out tonight, and the accompanying music just adds to the overwhelming mood. But its not quite perfect," Red X said while staring at her. "At least, not yet."

Raven stared at the outstretched hand that was beckoning to her, then to X. This guy sure knew how to treat a girl. Another breeze past by, letting X's tattered cape flutter aimlessly in the wind. For some reason, the image that lay before her took Raven's breath away. Red X might have been a thief. He might have been a jerk terrorizing other jerks. But right now, he was the person that made Raven feel special, something she had never felt before. And to her, nothing else mattered.

Without another moments hesitation, Raven took X's hand. Raven could almost see the smile that formed on X's face under that mask. He drew her close, her body inches from his. His arm wrapped around her waist as she rested her hand on his shoulder. Her eyes met his pupiless gaze, and she couldn't help but return his smile.

It happened so swiftly, Raven didn't even realize she was dancing until Red X dipped her. Raven was caught off guard at first, but soon began to follow X's lead. Across the rooftop they danced, spinning and turning atop the building as fluidly as water. It came so natural to Raven, it seemed as if she had been doing this for years. Raven drew closer to X, drawing comfort from his embrace. She was enjoying this immensely, being truly lost in the moment. Raven felt as if this could last forever.

"Red X, I want to thank you," Raven whispered to X.

"Hmm? What for?" Red X asked in that famous distorted voice of his.

"For… everything. For the necklace, for the dress, for-"

"Raven, those are just things. Anyone with enough money can get them. Well, you don't have to have money, if you catch my drift," X said with a smirk.

"Hmph, funny. But its not just the gifts. They may be beautiful, but they pale in comparison to what you've really given me."

"And, that would be…?"

"You've given me this feeling I haven't felt in such a long time. You've made me feel happy, special. I'm usually overlooked, viewed as plain and dull. And so I receded myself from public, hiding who I really was under a false façade. But you, you've seen me for more, who I really am. And, I thank you for that."

"Well, you're very welcome. But I must say, this is quite ironic."

Raven skewed at this.

"Ironic? How?"

"Well, you're thanking me for making you feel happy, when I want to do the exact same thing. I too haven't felt this good for quite some time, as long as I can remember actually. But, since I met you, things have never been better. And for this, I want to thank you."

Raven's eyes widened at this statement. He wanted to thank her?

"You've already done so much for me. You don't need to do anything else."

"No, it's not enough. But, I think I know of a way to even the score." Red X held Raven at arms length before his hands went towards his face.

Raven didn't know what was going on, what to say. This was so strange. This guy who she liked, yet knew nothing about. He was going to reveal to her something so secret, something so important to him, that he had never done this for anyone else.

Red X's hands reached to his face and slowly began to pull the mask off to reveal his face. Raven gasped at the sight she saw before her.

"Ka… Kale! Is that really you?" Raven couldn't believe her eyes. Her best friend who she had come to know so well was the thief that was all over the news. They seemed like two different people, but they were actually one and the same. Raven was speechless.

"Well Raven, I'll take it from your wide eyed expression and gaping open mouth you're surprised it's me under this mask." With the mask off, his voice was no longer distorted. Instead it was the voice that Raven had come to know and draw comfort from.

"Well yes, I am shocked. But also relieved."

"Come again?" Red X was confused.

"You see, I've found myself being attracted to both Kale and Red X, with many reasons for each." Raven began to advance towards X, closing the gap that separated them until she was inches from him. "But now that I find that Kale is Red X, I no longer have to choose between the two men that I care for."

Raven wrapped her arms around Kale's neck drawing her body closer to his until they met. In turn, Kale let his arms fall around her waist, holding her body close to his. Raven knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't know if she had the courage to do so. But this was a once in a lifetime moment. Who knew when this kind of opportunity would present itself again.

Raven leaned in closer to Kale, her lips growing closer to his, quivering in anticipation. She could feel his hot breath on her lips as they were centimeters away. She wanted this so badly, something she had wanted to do for a while. This night was perfect, this moment was perfect. Nothing was going to ruin it. She closed the gap, ready to feel his lips press passionately against hers.

"Gooooooooooooood morning Jump City! Rise and shine everybody, it's a beautiful day!"

Raven's eyes shot open at this strange and unwanted voice. She looked around to find that she was lying down in her bed. It had only been a dream. Raven rose out of bed covering her face with her hands.

"Yes, that's right folks. Today is going to be another beautif-"

BANG!

That shut that stupid clock up. Raven glared at the now broken timer before closing her eyes in thought.

"It… it was, just a dream. But it felt so real. I could have sworn I… ugh."

Raven couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Kale was just a really good friend and nothing more. Red X was just a thief and nothing more. She didn't love them... or at least she didn't think she did. Besides... Kale... and X? The same person? They were total opposites. On second thought... why did she dream of those two being the same person anyway? Why was Kale the person behind the skulled mask?

Raven turned her gaze to glare at the broken alarm clock that had so rudely awakened her from her blissful dream. She sighed as she let her gaze drop to the bed she lay on.

"Great, now I need to get a new clock… ugh. I need to get ready for school."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

It was just another night out on the job for Red X. And as strange as it seemed, this part of X's day was always the most relaxing. By day, a mild-mannered loser who was always harassed nonstop. But by night, he could cut lose and become the master thief Red X.

In the short time since Kale had donned the battle suit, thieving had become second nature to the teen. It came as easily to him as breathing. Kale loved the sense of euphoria he got as he ran across roof tops, leaping from building to building, and the occasional free fall. Such an adrenaline rush the thief experienced every time he went out. X absolutely loved this feeling.

Tonight was just like any other night Red X decided to grace Jump City with his presence. He would slip in undetected into his target location, steal whatever it was he was after, and silently vanish from within the building. Completely routine. Or at least, that's how it was supposed to go anyway.

"Ah damn it!"

See? What I tell ya.

There right in front of the black clad thief was his prize, the Crimson Sapphire. Normally, sapphires are of a bluish color. Actually, sapphires could be a range of colors, except for red. But that was not the case with this particular gemstone. A royal blue was the main pigment of this gem, but a crimson red also flowed through giving it an elegant look. Such a rarity as this is considered priceless, and it was considered to be something any shifty eyed malefactor would desire.

The reason for X's frustration was how well this sucker was guarded. Pressure sensitive floor tiles, auto laser weapons primed and ready, and to top it all off, a laser grid surrounding the valuable gemstone ready to decimate anything it touched.

"Holy crap, these guys sure go all out on security for just a single sapphire. Seems kinda eccentric really."

X stood there, assessing the situation and pondering over this seemingly hopeless predicament. The thief crossed his arms across his chest in deep thought.

'_Okay Kale, tell yourself exactly why you are trying to steal this thing in the first place. I mean, it's not like I can just go to the nearest jewelry store and sell this sucker for a crap load of cash. Yeah, that would go over real well. I mean sure, its shiny and all that, and I do like shiny things, but come on.'_

Red X turned his glare from the sapphire towards the wall opposite him, not really staring at it, but through it into space. He scratched his chin as he continued to think.

'_Right, so let's say I actually am able to steal this gem, what could I do with it? I could sell it to the highest bidder in some underground crime syndicate, but I really don't like associating myself with those cretins. Hmm… I could sell it to some whacked out nut who wants to use the gem to power some machine that could harness the power of the Northern Lights for unreasonable purposes.'_

X paused after that last thought, actually going over what he had just thought to make sure he had heard himself correctly.

'_Oh my God, what the hell was I thinking? That is the craziest thing I've ever heard of, and I thought of it. What kind of nut would even do something like that? HA!'_

The master thief once again turned his gaze to the captivating gemstone and sighed.

"Ugh, what do I care what I'm gonna do with it? I'm just going to steal it because I can. Besides, I can always figure out what I'm going to do with it once I'm outta here."

With those "noble" words said, X turned his attention to study the laser grid surrounding the Crimson Sapphire, checking it to see if there were any holes he could exploit. He found one.

Red X grinned.

"Come to me my pretty."

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

X strolled across the rooftop, tossing the Crimson Sapphire up into the air, and catching it in his nimble hand as gravity played its role.

"Smooth as silk baby. Smooth as silk."

The thief tossed the gemstone up one last time before grabbing it in midair and placing it in one of the compartments in his belt. He patted the stone's resting place confidently as he continued to pace across the roof.

"I'll see to it that you find a good home. But first, its time to head back home for a little rest and relaxation."

"Very impressive my young thief. I haven't seen your kind of skill and potential in such a long time."

X had been so distracted with his pride and sense of accomplishment that he nearly fell flat on his face when the dark calm voice spoke out.

"What the hell!"

X stirred as he turned to meet the man behind the voice that had snuck up on him. Facing back at him was the one eyed, bisected mask of a man clad in black and orange.

"Your little endeavor back there was quite impressive. Diving towards the laser grid above the floor tiles and reaching your hand through a small opening, very daring. But grabbing the gem and teleporting to the opposite wall before any more of your body came close to the grid, now that is talent. Marvelous really. Simply astonishing if I do say so myself."

X skewed as he stared at this stranger praising his accomplishments. The teen didn't like this situation. The man was too calm. Red X couldn't explain why, but he was getting a bad vibe about this guy.

"Okay Mr. Mystery. First off, who the hell are you, and what do you want?"

The bi-colored man seemed to smile behind his mask, but his voice showed no change in emotion.

"I do apologize, Red X was it? Sometimes I do forget myself. My name, is Slade."

X cringed at the mere sound of that name.

'_Slade? The same Slade I took this suit from? Is he here to take it back? Not good.'_

"As for why I'm here… I'm here to discuss that suit of yours."

'_Ah crap.'_

Red X knew that sooner or later he would confront this man, but he didn't think it would happen this soon.

"I'll cut right to the chase. You and I both know where that suit of yours came from. I was disappointed at the news of its theft at first... that suit was for a family purpose..."

"And let me guess mister upstanding citizen. You want to take back your suit by beating the living crap out of me and teach me a lesson to never steal from you again."

Slade shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent sigh.

"My my, you do have a vivid imagination. No, I have other plans. You see, you have so much untapped potential. You've already demonstrated to me that you are a more capable pilot of that suit than my first choice could ever be. But you are a bit reckless, and that can be a dangerous thing. I can help with that little problem. Grant was going to become my apprentice, but you seem to be a much better candidate."

The black adorned thief just stared gawking at this Slade person. Was this guy for real? Did X hear him correctly?

"Uh… come again?"

Slade outstretched his hand, gesturing for X to take it.

"Join me Red X, become my apprentice. You will come to learn so many new skills that you couldn't possibly comprehend. You will be unstoppable. But in order for you to gain such power, you must become my pupil."

X skewed.

"Thanks for the offer one eye," Red X said while batting Slade's extended hand aside. "But I think I'll pass. I'm not into the whole evil thing, which clearly you are. And besides, I work alone."

Slade sighed as he walked towards X. The teen braced himself for combat, but the fight never came. Instead, Slade merely walked by him.

"It saddens me that you will not take my offer at this moment. It would save you so much grief. But alas, you chose this way. So be it. You will join my cause, sooner or later you will come to me, begging for my leadership. But until then…"

Slade raised his hand high above his head, letting X see what was in his grasp. The thief's eyes widened in shock.

"What the…?"

X instantly turned his glare towards his waist to find it barren. His belt was not where it was supposed to be. It wasn't on his person, but in Slade's possession.

"When did… how did you… how the hell did you do that?"

X's stare slowly crept up in awe and horror at Slade.

"I think I'll keep your gem and belt safe for now. Oh, and I do hope you are able to get out of here safely without your belt. You see, I tipped off the police in this district. They should be arriving any minute. I would hate to see my future apprentice taken in by the law so quickly."

As if Red X's eyes weren't wide enough, they grew in size at the mention of the cops. He turned a 180 and spotted the blue and red flashing lights as they barreled down the streets. X turned back to Slade to question his motives, but the masked man had disappeared.

He could here the sirens drawing ever closer to his location, shattering the silence that once dominated the night air. The only sound that could rival the sirens was the sound of X's beating heart.

Red X had to get out of there. He couldn't get caught. Not here, not now, not ever. There was no time for rational though as primal instincts to escape took over. The thief ran towards the edge of the roof and without a moment's hesitation, he leapt off the building.

It was there in mid air that Red X figured that wasn't the best decision in the world. His chest slammed into the other building, knocking the wind out of the teen. But he wasn't given a chance to recuperate as gravity worked its cruel ways and instantly pulled X down towards the unforgiving earth.

Instead of becoming a pavement pancake on the cold unforgiving ground however, Red X plummeted into a dumpster with a loud slam. Once again, what little air he had left was knocked out of the thief. He couldn't breathe, and he desperately needed to change that. X furiously groped at his face, trying to get a firm grip on is mask. In desperation, the thief yanked off the mask, anything to help him breathe easier.

The putrid air of the dumpster was welcomed into the gasping teen's lungs. But the relief didn't last. The momentary peace was shattered as excruciating agony overwhelmed the boy. Falling from such a height into a dumpster would hurt anyone. Everything was going dark as the pain took over. Red X closed his eyes, trying to make the pain go away, but it was too much. Constricting his every sense, Kale passed out from the throbbing pain that bonded him.

_XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Raven pulled her hood tighter around her face as she walked down the moonlit streets of Jump City. She had to get out of the house away from her father. This was her only option.

But it wasn't just her father that drove her to the streets tonight. The dream she had had earlier this morning was still nagging at her. She needed some fresh air to try and help her think things over.

"Raven, you are a total mess, and that's that. Nothing left to say."

The hooded girl sighed as the image of Kale slowly morphed into Red X in her mind. Did she like the idea of them being one and the same? Would it help if that were even the case if she found that she had feelings for both? Or did it appall her that she liked both the kind hearted boy and the mysterious thief. Again the girl sighed in exasperation.

"This, is insane."

The sounds of sirens blaring brought Raven from her daze.

"Uh oh. Better not let the police catch me out this late at night, less they get the wrong idea. I better get out of here."

Raven looked around and found her escape in the form of an alley way. She ducked into the alley and began her trek back to her house. But her journey was cut short as a loud slam sounded a couple yards away.

Normally, this would be the time to flee and run away and just high tail it out of there. But curiosity can be a very strange thing, causing investigating rather than leaving. And of course, this was one of those cases.

Raven crept closer to where the sound had originated from, leading her to a dumpster. Heavy breathing could be heard from within. Fear overwhelmed the girl, causing her to freeze right in front of the dumpster. All was silent except for the breathes that hovered in the air.

'_I can just walk away right now, and I won't ever have to worry about this every again. Really, I can walk away. Right now. Just walk away.'_

But no matter how many times she said it, Raven did not walk away. Quite the opposite actually. Instead of running away, she found herself creeping ever closer to the dumpster and whatever lay within. Raven removed her hood as she was right next to the object of her captivation. Her hands rested on the cold metal rims. There was no turning back now. She peered inside and instantly froze in horror.

There, writhing in pain was the master thief Red X. The same Red X that had fascinated her so much. But something was different. The skulled visage that was the thief's mask was strewn recklessly aside next to the thief. His face was exposed. Raven stared wide eyed at the face before her.

"KALE?"

* * *

Once again, super sorry for the delay… Hope it was worth it though… Well, review and tell all… Till next time… laterz... 


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